Bridges
by Jazzy1
Summary: Hermione Granger has dedicated her life to teaching former Death Eaters the error of their ways. When Draco Malfoy finds himself in trouble with the law, he is placed in a program that requires him to live as a Muggle under the direction of his fated enemy.
1. Judgment Day

**_Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, although I wish some days that I was. I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with Harry Potter or Warner Bros. Once again, I'm a lonely nerd with a writing habit and a deep love of Dramione FanFiction._**

_It's too late to make it right. I probably wouldn't if I could, because I'm mad as hell and can't bring myself to do what it is you think I should _

– _Dixie Chicks_

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The war was finally coming to an end and many wizards believed that because Voldemort was dead, the chaos of the war would immediately cease.

They would be wrong.

After the Dark Lord fell at the hands of Harry Potter there was mass rebellion. The killing continued and wizards and muggles alike continued to suffer.

The men and woman that followed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were rotten on the inside; if not all of them, then most. They merely used the Dark Lord as an excuse to carry on with their behavior and justify their crimes. His death didn't differ their impulses or lessen their need to watch the world burn.

The biggest change that existed after He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named fell was that people were less afraid now. They began to stand up to the Death Eaters and aid the Aurors in their capture.

The Malfoys felt it best to turn themselves in from the beginning. If they were to be charged with crimes against the Wizarding World, they believed they would be treated less harshly if they were among the first to co-operate.

Besides, it was Narcissa who had tricked the Dark Lord into believing Harry Potter to be dead, thus saving his life and, in her mind, the Wizarding World as it was known. The Malfoys believed that they not only deserved clemency, but they saw themselves as Heroes deserving of recognition and retribution.

Draco felt confidant as he sat on the bench inside the Ministry, awaiting his turn to be seen and judged by the Wizengamont. His mother had already been judged and had been forgiven of all her charges. He felt that his father would not get off as scot-free as his mother but receive minimal punishment, seeing as it was his idea to give the Malfoy name and service to the Dark Lord. He was being judged presently as Draco waited outside the courtroom.

Draco viewed himself as faultless. He had tried to be everything his father had demanded of him but evidently he just wasn't that man. In the beginning of his service, he was excited to be called upon to serve the Dark Lord. He had fantasies of late night raids, of torturing muggles and muggle-borns; making them pay for their crimes against nature and the wizarding world.

He dreamed of vengeance against mudbloods like Granger. He had a special hatred reserved for her. She was the only person in school to receive higher marks them him and that made her a potent threat in his eyes. He saw her as nothing more than a repulsive abomination the needed to be erased. He knew that if he had been able to get his revenge against her it would have sent a message to mudbloods everywhere that they didn't belong among wizards. Prove that her cleverness could never hold up against the weight of his purity.

But he never got that opportunity, instead he was sent to kill a legitimate wizard who, although he believed him to be a fool half the time, was generally respected by the Wizarding world. Regardless of what Draco thought of his views and alliances, Dumbledore had worked his way to his position through the use of genuine power, cunning and intellect that only a real wizard could harbor. Sure, Dumbledore was a half blood, but so was the Dark Lord. And half-bloods stood leagues above mudbloods in Draco's registry.

If Draco had been given the chance he knew he could have made a difference. His heart had been in the cause, but luck had never been his friend and he never received the opportunities he craved. He was angry that his ability and talents had never been recognized and utilized during the war. His shining day never rose above the horizon.

Draco clenched his fist and scowled at the thought. He didn't care if his mother had come to a realization that they would have been better off never following the Dark Lord. He didn't care that he had almost been killed in the war. He didn't care that his family's alliance almost wound them all in Azkaban. He didn't want reformation and change. He wanted an outlet for his rage and, by Merlin; he was going to make sure he got it. As soon as he got out of this stupid court room.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy," the court officer opened the door and called out his name.

Draco stood up confidently and followed him into the court room. Both his hands were bound in shackles, as was customary. He took a seat in the center of room and faced the court with confidence. He tried not to show weakness or flinch when chains rose off the floor, up past the arms of the chair, and bound him further.

The Chief Warlock, who presided in the center of the room, was the only one to speak.

"Mr. Malfoy, the court has been informed by an array of witnesses in a previous hearing that your allegiance to the Dark Lord was deemed involuntary and that you were forced to take on the Dark Mark against your will. It is truly a shame that your parents would allow you to become involved with such a cruel and hateful cult; learning to hate perfect strangers on their blood status alone. I hope, for your sake, that their influence on you has been minimal."

Draco merely nodded to acknowledge he was paying attention. The Chief Warlock took this gesture as agreement and was satisfied, he continued speaking, "The court has also been informed that you were ordered to kill Albus Dumbledore by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named directly; A mission that you did not carry out."

Draco heard someone murmur, "He _didn't_ carry it out, or he wasn't _able_ to?"

He ignored it. So did the Chief Warlock, thank Merlin.

"Because there are no major charges against you, other than being illegally allied with the Dark Lord, the court finds you innocent of any crimes against the Wizarding World in recognition of your family's contribution to ending the war. However, the Ministry will hold record of your relations with the Death Eaters and any future charges against you, should they be pressed, will hold serious consequence. So be wary to keep yourself out of trouble Mr. Malfoy. Consider this a second chance. An opportunity to change the way you view the world and the people in it. By order of this court, you are cleared of all wrong doing and are free to leave."

The Chief Warlock stood after delivering his verdict and the chains unraveled back down to the floor. Draco clenched and released his hands, glad to be unbound and left the room in the opposite direction in which he came.

His mother and father were waiting anxiously past the doorway. Narcissa took hold of him and embraced him closely the moment he passed the threshold.

"Oh Draco, I'm so happy. I don't know what I would do if they had punished you because of the choices we made. We never should have dragged you into this."

"You both were cleared?" asked Draco.

"Mostly, we have to pay restitution to a few half blood and muggle born families that we afflicted in the past. A sum far more deserving than their grievances if you ask me…"Lucius was scowling as he said it. "But I would rather pay that then face the kiss or Azkaban."

"We must remain grateful and always remember how close we came to that fate. Many of our friends are not as lucky as we are. If opportunity had not presented itself…"Narcissa shuddered at the thought. "I don't even want to think of where we would be." She caressed Draco's face tenderly with the back of her hand. "Especially you Draco. You're so young with so much to look forward to. To think that you could have spent the rest of your adult life in prison makes me nearly ill."

"Well you have nothing to worry about Mother. We're all fortunate enough to find ourselves free and safe."

"Of course. Shall we go? I'm quickly tiring of this place. I want to get back home," requested Narcissa.

"Let us be on our way then," Lucius agreed.

Draco followed behind his parents as they made their way back to the Manor. While they imagined their future free of the pressures they had endured over the last decade, Draco was busy scheming all the ways he could bring pain and suffering to those he believed had wronged and offended him.

It didn't matter to him that his parents and the court believed that he had the ability to be a decent Wizard in the newly developing society. He wasn't ready to make nice with muggleborns and half-bloods, he was angry and all he wanted was to make them pay.

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A:N/ So, I have decided to have each chapter in this story inspired by a song. Kind of a new way to inspire a story I guess. I wrote two Ipod challenge fics (Flashes of Dramione, and More Flashes of Dramione) and got the idea from that. They were fun to write and this is another way for me to keep the ball rolling. Let me know what you think. Reviews make my world turn! Also, if you're looking for something else to read; check out my other fics Torn and The Possibility. Thanks!


	2. Leaving The Past Behind

_One day he may come back and repay us for what we've done. Then where you gonna run to? Where you gonna run? We'll all be at his mercy if he decides to hunt us down, cause there ain't no place to run… And if he finds himself to be a reflection of us all then bang, bang, bang he'll shoot us down. _

–_Tracy Chapman_

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Nearly five years after the war had ended; Harry, Hermione, and Ron found themselves reasonably acclimated to the idea of living normal adult lives when their childhoods had been anything but traditional.

Ron had seen enough action to last him a life time and he was eager to follow in his parent's footsteps; start a family of his own and settle down. The problem was that Hermione had been anything but ready for motherhood. She didn't want to feel tied down by the responsibilities it required. They tried to make it work for a year but it was clear that they weren't going to make their dreams align. Ron was insistent that Hermione could accomplish her work while being a mother, yet whenever Hermione had to work overtime, or cancel a date night with Ron in order to get something at work done, he would reprimand and scold her; reminding her that she'd have to stop behaving that way once they started having kids.

Winning the war had made her feel empowered. She knew deep down in her soul that she had the power to make a difference in the wizarding world. She was excited to start her life, even if that meant a life without Ron in it.

/

_Hermione threw on her jacket and picked up her purse. She sighed as she looked at the clock rested atop her desk. It was eleven o'clock at night. She had promised Ron that she would be done with work by five that night so that they could have a much needed date night. _

_There was nothing she could have done to prevent staying late that night however. For some reason, unbeknownst to her, the Wizengamont ruled that Walden Macnair might have potential for her new program. _

_Hermione knew that he was beyond hope. This was the deatheater that had Broderick Bode strangled with devil's snare, who nearly killed Buckbeak and was publicly known for being a ruthless murderer. Hermione would have protested his acceptance into her program but Percy Weasley had been presiding as the Chief Warlock during his appeal and had 'accidently' forgotten to inform her of the hearing._

_Hermione scrunched up her nose at the thought of him. Percy was openly against Hermione's ideals. He didn't believe you could reform a death eater or someone with "death eater mentality" as he put it. He loved to throw "Challenges" her way whenever opportunity presented itself. Even if Hermione admitted to him that a proposed candidate was beyond saving he would push the case forward regardless, knowing how it would look to the Ministry when Hermione failed. _

_Hermione knew that he didn't have a personal vendetta against her. He genuinely believed it was dangerous to be placing former death eaters in muggle communities. And even if it meant setting some of Azkaban's worst criminals out into the world to prove his point, then so be it. The faster he got Hermione's program shut down, the safer the world would be in the long run. That was his opinion._

_Hermione's program was still in a probationary state, and she refused to let Percy get the best of her. So when she received notice that Macnair had been spotted trying to purchase a muggle fire arm by one of her temporary squad-officers, she moved quickly to get him removed from the muggle community in which he was place._

_She managed to get a last minute hearing pulled together that had complied to her request to have him placed back into Azkaban until an appeal date could be set. Lucky for her, Percy was not available to preside this hearing. When the appeal date came around, she would request to have Macnair kept in Azkaban permanently. She would have to start pulling together a case now that would convince the Wizengamont that Macnair was not a fit candidate for her program and make them understand what kind of person would be a suitable fit in the future. If she continued to receive such violent candidates from Percy, it would eventually mean the loss of her program and career with the ministry. If she had any say in it; that would never happen. She was determined to make Percy understand her mission so that he would stop trying to sabotage what she was trying to make her life's work._

_Hermione locked up her office and took the elevator up to the main floor of the ministry. She was on her way to the floo station when she spotted a familiar redhead sitting on the ledge of the fountain in the center of the ministry._

"_Ron, what are you doing here?" She walked faster towards him, sensing that something was wrong._

"_Waiting for you Hermione, as usual," he replied in a glum tone._

"_Ron, I'm so sorry that I had to cancel again but it was unavoidable. Your brother is making my life hell right now. Maybe you could speak to him? Help him understand what I'm trying to do here-"_

"_I know Hermione. I realize it's not your fault. And I believe in what you're trying to do. I really do. But when are you going to make us a priority?"_

"_Ron, you are a priority in my life. When I'm not at work, I'm spending every minute with you."_

"_But it's not enough Hermione. I want to get married, I want kids and a mother who is going to be there for them-"_

"_There is always time for that later."_

"_No! You can't know that. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow Hermione. I know that this is your calling and your life's passion. I accept that. But it's not mine. I don't think I can do this with you anymore."_

_Hermione felt a knot lumping in her throat. "You can't do what Ron?"_

"_This. Us." He pointed between the two of them. "I'm sorry but- it's over. I'm done." He stood up and walked away before she could respond._

_Hermione chased after him. "Just like that! You're going to just walk away?"_

_He didn't even turn around to face her. The coward._

_Hermione collapsed back onto the fountain with her head in her hands. _

_She wasn't going to let this get her down, she couldn't. She had far too much work to get done._

_She didn't need him. _

_Plus, she still had Harry…_

_/_

Hermione knew that Harry and Ron were still pretty close but things had never been the same between the three of them since their relationship ended. Ron had married a witch named Janessa that he had met at an anniversary party that was held to commemorate the end of the war, which Harry had hosted. She seemed like a very nice girl from what Hermione remembered. She was a year younger than her, with auburn hair and an agreeable disposition. Hermione figured she made Ron feel more in control than Hermione had. Whenever she saw the two of them together they were never arguing; something that Hermione had never managed to avoid with Ron for more than an hour at a time when they had been together. Last she heard, they were expecting their first son in another month. A boy they were going to name Landen.

Her program had taken off shortly after her separation from Ron, despite the protests of Percy Weasley. She finally started a new sub-department within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the ministry working with the court and the Aurors; Harry working alongside her. It was a special death-eater reformation department.

Ginny and Harry had gotten married right out of school. And while Harry supported Hermione fully and had helped form her department from the beginning, he preferred to work out of the Ministry as often as possible seeing as Ginny now worked with the Department of mysteries. There would be times when she would be gone for days and at most, weeks at a time; sometimes without notice. He liked to make sure he was available for her as often as possible. This gave Hermione ample time to work out in the field of her department without restraint. Because her department was so new, the ministry didn't afford her many hours to splurge. But Hermione didn't mind and found herself working many nights off of the clock. She had found a calling that she truly loved. She wasn't going to give it up for anyone.

Hermione believed whole heartedly that in order to prevent another Great War and rise of another Dark Lord, then you had to change the way that wizards and witches felt about muggles. Nothing changed if you threw a former death eater into Azkaban or gave him the kiss. If anything, it made things worse. Their children would grow to resent the ministry and muggles even further, pledging revenge against them on behalf of their parents and relatives. Punishment like that only bred more hate and intolerance.

Not to say that many witches and wizards didn't deserve their imprisonment. If Bellatrix Lestrange had survived the war, Hermione would have seen to it personally that she had received the kiss. Every morning she had to wake up to see the word 'MUDBLOOD' etched into her arm she felt inspired to keep fighting. Bellatrix put it there to remind her that she was inferior to other wizards. What she did in reality was inspire Hermione daily to fight for a genuinely changed world.

Her department was reserved for wizards and witches who had committed lesser war crimes or had committed a crime against muggles and muggle borns post war. It had taken her a good year to convince Percy to stop sending Azkaban's finest her way.

If the Wizengamont approved of their placement into her program they would be forced to live their lives as muggles for an entire year; living their lives fully dependent on the muggle system. This meant forfeiting their wands to the court, obtaining a muggle job and housing while being denied any access to their Gringotts account. All communication with the wizarding world had to be done through the ministry, this included family.

Hermione had a whole squad of officers that worked with and under her. They monitored these wizards and witches in their new living settings to ensure they were behaving appropriately, surviving and hopefully learning to live positively alongside muggles. The paroled prisoners were questioned on a schedule and studied by the Ministry to see if Hermione's program was creating true change. So far Hermione's Department was incredibly successful. If there was a vacancy available, every prisoner faced with an Azkaban sentence chose to participate rather than be locked up. Even those wizards and witches that had sworn up and down that they would rather die than see themselves equal to a muggle for even a day.

Every once in a while there would be a wizard or witch that was unable to adapt to the new settings due to their extreme intolerance, or inability to learn a new living style and have to finish their sentence in Azkaban. The reformation program provided their participants with sufficient amount of education so that they would know how to live in the muggle world. They taught them about electricity, transportation, culture, currency, emergency services, laws, customs and other general differences, but if they didn't pay attention and found themselves helpless and unable to survive in the muggle world they were sent back. Hermione refused to help someone who didn't have the desire to learn or help themselves. In her eyes, this was an opportunity and not a sentence.

If her participants finished their full year, they were welcomed back to the Wizarding World and required to do group work for another full three months; speaking with other participants and sharing their experiences with one another. Hermione was able to witness each day the changes she was making in the lives of their families and in the community. She didn't want to contain the hatred they harbored in some cell where she knew it would breed on the anger of their cellmates, she wanted to isolate and treat it. If these offenders could learn to see themselves in others, especially muggles, they would develop a new found sense of respect for humanity. They would have to or find themselves ruined in Azkaban.

Reformation or Imprisonment. The choice was in their hands.

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A:N/ So, I'm pretty sure I'm going to do much better at updating this story than I did with Torn because I already have eleven chapters written. I just gotta edit them and revise them blah blah before I upload them. Let me know what you think so far. I'm having alot of fun writing so far. About to sing some karaoke after posting this. Send me a review and let me know what you're doing tonight and what you thought of the chapter. Feedback is the fuel that keeps my writing engine burning. Plus, I love getting to know my readers. You guys are fun XD Shout outs to 23Nelly, JaspersEmotionalGirl, and getz dragon for being three of my biggest fans/readers. I specifically look out for your reviews every update and you never fail me, so special thanks to you! :D


	3. When It Rains, It Pours

_Sometimes a hurt is so deep, deep, deep you think that you're gonna drown. Strange how hard it rains now, rows and rows of big dark clouds. When I'm holding on underneath this shroud; Rain_

_- Norah Jones_

/

A short, black heel splashed its way into a large puddle in the middle of a sidewalk in London. The rain was pattering across the roadway and sinking its way into the grass as the wind scattered water every which-way. Hermione tightened her jacket closer around her body in an attempt to keep out the cold blowing air and walked a little faster.

A small green car sped it's way past her, nearly splashing her with the dirty street water, so she took a step back away from the cross walk. She stood impatiently and waited for the signal allowing her to pass. The street light made its way to red and Hermione crossed. One block later, she found herself arriving at her destination.

The sign above the door read, 'Stone Inn'. The aroma of beer and bar food wafted out into the night air as Hermione pushed open the heavy door and entered the warm building. Her jacket was covered in rain. She removed it and shook off the excess water before looking around the bar for her friend.

Harry Potter was sitting in their usual booth in the corner, with her drink ready for her beside him. She made her way across the room, weaving between barstools and tables and slid in next to her old friend. The air between them was solemn and still. Hermione picked up the martini glass and took a slow sip before greeting Harry with words.

"Harry," was all she simply said to acknowledge him.

"Hermione," he responded and took a long drink of his lager in return.

It had been gloomy and raining the entire day. Hermione felt that it suited the occasion perfectly. Tonight marked five years since the Battle of Hogwarts. While most of the wizarding world acknowledged their respects at the school, various cemeteries or wizarding bars such as The Three Broomsticks, Hermione and Harry always came here. It was Hermione's father's favorite bar to go to in his adult youth. He had told her many tales of the shenanigans he and his friends had partaken in at this location. He had always made it sound like such a joyous place. She could tell from looking around at the patrons that it was.

But not tonight; not for her and not for Harry.

Regardless of the chatter and pleasant interactions around them, Harry and Hermione remained secluded in their dark corner. They preferred to spend this day together where other witches and wizards wouldn't go looking for them. They had enough memories of the battle to keep them awake at night. There was no need to return to Hogwarts; they merely closed their eyes and found themselves there.

On top of that, Hermione missed her parents terribly. She was sure she could find a wizard that mastered in memory regeneration to help them remember who she was. But she didn't have the heart for it, when she had gone to visit them she had found them more happy and full of life then she had ever remembered. They had moved on and she felt she needed to do the same. It had been over a year since she had seen them or checked up on their well-being. It hurt too much for her to go back. But every year she allowed herself to return to the Stone Inn and remember. This modest bar harbored her numerous sorrows once a year.

On this day she remembered her mother and father. She remembered Fred Weasley. She remembered Tonks and Lupin, Snape, Sirius, Colin, even Lavender Brown and so many others. She let herself feel the sorrow; deeply. She would not leave until early the next morning when she was fully intoxicated; too numb to feel the pain anymore.

Eventually, she would wake up with a hangover worse than the year before and when she recovered she would be okay. She would be more than okay. She would be newly motivated and ready to take on another year of fighting the hatred; ensuring that no one else would have to die for such a frivolous cause.

But that was tomorrow, at a later time.

Right now, she needed another drink. Her hand rose up in the air and signaled the bartender for another round.

/

It had to be raining.

"How tacky," Draco said aloud to himself as he threw on his shoes and laced them up. Of course it would rain today.

'_The perfect ambience to remember the day,'_ he thought sarcastically.

He almost suspected that it was the result of some collaborated spell work. He would have been certain of it had it not been raining so heavily since the early morning.

He noticed that the water had started to flood the grounds outside the manor as he peered out his second-story window. Not that it mattered much; he wouldn't have to walk much tonight anyway.

Draco made his way downstairs and found Blaise Zabini waiting near the mantel piece. As was typical of Blaise, he stood with perfect posture, his chin pointed slightly upwards, defining his bone structure and asserting his arrogant nature in an elite, yet subtle fashion.

"Blaise," Draco extended his hand to greet his friend and Blaise returned it with a strong grip.

"You look better than last year," Blaise remarked. "As I recall, you were already drunk by the time I came by."

"Yes, well…" Draco shrugged.

Blaise had never associated himself with Voldemort's followers during the war but he had held the same distain for muggles and muggle borns as Draco did, if not more. After the court date had cleared Draco of his charges, he found solace in his friend Blaise. His mother and father refused to hear any more talk of blood traitors and mudbloods in the house; paranoid that they were being censored by the Ministry and still at risk of being sent to Azkaban. Blaise was one of the few people Draco had in his life that he could be honest with.

They both took immense satisfaction in the suffering of muggles and would share with one another news of disasters that resulted in muggle casualties that they knew could have been prevented by simple magic. They basked in their superiority, mocking the pain and suffering of muggles. Every once in a while they were the direct cause of it. There had been quite a few incidents where they would work each other into such a frustration over their circumstance, that they would be convinced of their right to take away another human being's sense of security and safety. They didn't always physically hurt the people they tormented but on occasion they did. They had never been caught and had never felt a morsel of regret for any of it.

Draco was convinced that they had already gotten the worst of it out of their system; anything else they did to the muggles from that point on was on the verge of harmless, an act presented solely for their amusement.

Draco, and most of Slytherin house in his year, knew the circumstance of how Blaise and his mother had obtained their wealth. His mother had been widowed seven times over and every time she and her son happened to be the fortunate benefactors of each tragedy. Draco had a suspicion that Blaise held himself so much higher than everyone else, wizards included, because he couldn't go a day without feeling the burden of the blood that had laid the fountain of his life.

He never had the gall to ask Blaise if his own father had fallen victim to his mother's antics, but one night on the anniversary of the battle he had shown him.

_/_

_They finished up the bottle of fire whiskey between them as they sat around chatting in Blaise's manor. Blaise had just retrieved a fresh bottle when their conversation had taken a sharp turn towards a darker path. _

"_Do you know why I never became a death eater Draco?" Blaise asked as he filled both of their glasses until they reached the brim._

_Draco graciously picked up his glass and slowly drank as he listened, the liquid scorching his throat on its way down. He made a face of slight discomfort as he swallowed, scrunching up his nose and pursing his lips, "Hmm?"_

"_Because I don't think that it's right to kill another wizard," stated Blaise simply._

"_That was never our objective; to kill wizards."_

"_Right, but your lot was always willing if a wizard got in your way. Kill all the muggles for all I care, the muggle borns along with them!" Blaise leaned forwards towards Draco as he expressed his point, "But I, myself, could never have killed another wizard just to have my way." Blaise reclined back into his chair after he said his peace and paused for a moment, a haunted look overtaking his eyes. They seemed to darken as he toyed with the rim of his glass, running his finger along the edge. _

"_I never want to become my mother." He finally muttered._

_Draco didn't say anything. He just listened for Blaise to speak up again._

"_She killed my father, you know? And the rest of them…all seven of them pure blood wizards." He shook his head, "What a waste." He lifted up his glass to his lips and took a deep drink. His eyes shut in pain as the liquid burned through him. "I don't care about the rest of them. But my father would have become a great man had he lived. I'm sure of it."_

"_How can you be sure?" Draco thought for a moment that he had interjected too soon because Blaise snapped his response towards him._

"_-Because I'm his son! I can feel it within me that I have the potential to be greater than I am! I got that from him, not from her! I can't even stand to speak with that witch face to face," was his outburst._

_Draco didn't respond or ask any questions. He finished his glass in silence. Draco reached his hand forward and grasped the neck of the whiskey bottle when Blaise reached forward to stop him from pouring another glass. _

"_I want to show you," Blaise said aloud, to even his own astonishment. _

"_Show me what?" asked Draco, confused._

"_What happened," Without warning Blaise pulled Draco out of his chair, clutched his arms around him and apparated them to a place Draco didn't recognize._

"_What the fuck mate!" Draco shouted out._

"_Shut up!" Blaise warned. He pulled out his wand and gestured for Draco to do the same._

"_Where are we?" whispered Draco as he looked around at the two story yellow home with white paned windows, and a perfectly manicured lawn._

"_Does it matter? This house if filled with nothing but swine." Blaise quietly approached the door. Not knowing what else to do, Draco followed along. "Alohomora" The door clicked open and the two wizards entered the home._

"_Where are we?" Draco whispered asked as he looked up and around the interior. It held hardly any photographs, but the furniture looked comfortable and it was certainly clean._

"_I'll tell you later. Just shut up and follow me. Lock the door behind you."_

_Draco turned around and flicked his wand at the door, "Colloportus." The latch shut closed with a click. _

_Blaise made his way up the stairs quietly, so Draco followed behind in a similar manner. They made their way to what Draco assumed was the master bedroom of the house._

_Blaise was standing beside the bed when Draco rounded the corner. Draco could make out the form of a man with dark brown, scruffy textured hair sleeping on the left side of the bed. A pair of glasses set out on the night stand beside him. Blaise knelt down near the man lying in bed and whispered, "Imperius." The man's eyes shot open with a blank stare, but he didn't move. _

_Then Blaise made his way over to the man's wife and did the same. He then commanded them both to stand up. Draco could then see that the woman had long, curly, light brown hair that bounced around her shoulders. He couldn't tell what color eyes either of them had from the effect of the curse. But they were both older and when Blaise lit up the room he could see that they were both graying. _

"_Now let's use our imagination's Draco," stated Blaise. He was sitting on the edge of the bed now, nonchalantly. "This man will be my father and this…woman…will play my mother. Now to reenact this appropriately, we would need three people but I trust you can use your imagination to fill in the blank spaces. Mother comes home one day and accuses my father of having an affair." Blaise crossed his arms as he spoke. "Which, in all fairness, he was having. But what wizard of status doesn't indulge in such pleasures from time to time?" _

_Draco nodded his head and followed along with what Blaise was telling him. The couple in the center of the room stood firmly still, facing Draco._

"_So she goes bat shit crazy and decides that she doesn't need my father anymore, even though he gave her everything he had. My mother may be a pureblood but she was nothing more than a common witch before she met my father. She owes him all she has to this day." He looked as if he has smelled something especially foul as he spoke of his mother. "She finds my father with this other witch and kills her the instant she takes in sight of her. This obviously gets my father's attention." The victims in the center of the room turned and faced one another as Blaise pointed his wand and commanded them to turn. He stood up off the bed and walked directly behind the woman, resting his chin lazily on her shoulder._

"_She decides that she can do better without him and decides to kill him as well."_

_Blaise whispered in the woman's ear, "Point your finger at your husband and say Avada Kadavra."_

_The woman spoke, even without knowing her it was evident that her voice was not her own. "Avada Kadavra" she lulled as she directed her pointer finger in her husband's direction._

_Blaise laughed with amusement. "Looks so stupid doesn't it?"_

_Draco smiled at the ridiculousness of it all. The muggles were behaving as nothing more than dolls. It did look quite entertaining to the both of them._

_Blaise kept laughing, his tone becoming more distorted with each chuckle. "Ha ha ha…," he grew suddenly solemn, "in all seriousness Draco- it was more like this-"_

_Blaise pointed his wand directly at the man, lining his arm with the woman's still raised finger and spoke the words, "Avada Kadavra!" without a hint of hesitation or remorse. _

_A green light filled the room and the muggle man fell down to the floor; dead. The muggle woman lacked any emotion or reaction as she continued to stare blankly into space._

"_She altered the officer's memory when he came to the scene and made him say that he had witnessed my father trying to kill her after he killed his own mistress in a fit of rage. She stated in court that she had killed him in defense. But the thing is, I know where mummy keeps her memories and I've seen it all as it really happened. And let me tell you Draco, if she wasn't my mother-"Blaise turned the wand to the woman's neck and repeated the curse, "Avada Kadavra." _

_The woman collapsed and fell down dead on top of her husband's lifeless body. _

"_I might just kill her," Blaise finished his sentence. _

_Draco made no comment. It wasn't the first time he had witnessed muggles being killed. That's not what shook him. It was the coldness in Blaise's eyes that he had never seen before. From that day on Draco knew he would never know of a closer comrade or brother in arms. _

_They left the muggle home and returned to Blaise's manor as if nothing happened. They never spoke of that night again with the exception of quiet stares they shared on occasion in which they knew what the other was thinking. They were never suspected, questions, or faced any sort of consequence for the crime. _

_In their minds the death of two muggles was meaningless and the lack of retribution proved it to them._

/

On the anniversary of the Battle, that vivid night was always in the forefront of Blaise's mind. It was the first time he told anyone the truth about his father and it was most certainly the last.

"Where to this year?" asked Blaise of Draco.

"I found a relatively busy pub in London that I'm certain no one will be at aside from drunken muggles."

"How are you so sure?"

"I can't be sure. But when have we ever seen a witch or wizard outside in muggle London on this day? No one will be there and no one will see us." Draco convinced him.

Every year they found a new way to 'celebrate' the anniversary. This year was Draco's turn to mark the occasion any way he pleased and he knew Blaise would follow his lead.

"Let's go." Draco took hold of Blaise's hand and side along apparated them a couple blocks away from their destination.

"Great," Draco mumbled as he stepped in a puddle, "It's raining here too."

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A/N: This was one of my favorite chapters to write so I hope you were into it. I work all weekend so I might not have an update ready until next week but I'll do my best to get chapter 4 up this weekend. Let me know what you think so far. I'm off to see the Hunger Games for the third time. My mom hasn't seen it yet and that's unacceptable to me so I'm dragging her to the movies to behold the glory that is Peeta

On another note- My wildest dreams came true yesterday! I got sorted into Slytherin house on Pottermore! I'm crazy excited about that. My mom was positive she wouldn't get Slytherin house but she got sorted there too! I guess it's in the bloodline, Haha! ;) All of you Pottermore users, What house did you get sorted into? Are you happy with your house? Why/Why Not? Also, you'll find my Pottermore username on my profile if you feel like sending me a friend request. XD


	4. Over The Edge

_I'm in between the place that I'm from and the place that I'm in... I found a friend or should I say foe? …We don't want you to see that we come and we go. Here today, gone tomorrow…Take it from me, we don't give sympathy. You can trust me…" – The Fray_

/

Four gin-martinis in and Hermione was beginning to feel like she was accomplishing something. The martini glass was still tipped back and pouring liquid into her mouth as she signaled for her fifth round.

She glanced over towards the window and saw that the rain was starting to let up. It certainly accounted for the sudden rush of people flooding into the bar over the last half hour. Hermione preferred it busy because it meant that less attention would be given to their little booth in the corner. She didn't have to worry about being neglected by the bartender, he knew by now to keep checking over every thirty minutes or so to entertain them with more drinks. They made sure to tip high after every drink in order to ensure they weren't neglected as a crowd began to gather around the bar. They figured that the least they could do was make sure they sent the bartender home a bit richer and happier on this gloomy day. Someone had the right to be happy, if not them.

"Do you want to talk about it?" said Harry quietly.

Hermione knew exactly what he was talking about. He was inviting her to talk about Ron and the fact that she had remained single since their split; refusing to date and instead making an obsession out of her career. He was checking to see if she needed to talk about her decision to obliverate her parents and the friends they lost. He was asking her if she wanted to actually speak about all of the reasons they came here and got shit-faced every year. As if one of these nights they would drink themselves into a state of clarity and closure.

And he knew damn well that she didn't want to talk about any of it, and she knew that he didn't want to either. Neither ever did. But, being the good friend Harry was, he always gave her the opportunity to open that door should she feel the need to actually deal with her problems.

"No," answered Hermione simply; grateful that her martini had just arrived in that moment. The bartender dropped off an extra round along with it.

"We're getting a little busy. Just want to make sure you're set in case I can't make my way over soon." The bartender explained with an apologetic smile.

"Oh, no problem. Thanks for the thought," replied Harry as he paid; generously tipping him for the four drinks on top of the balance.

"Thanks mate, you know you really don't need to tip so high." The bartender began to hand back a portion of the cash.

Harry interrupted him. "No, It's for you to keep. I insist on it. Tonight, we're celebrating, "he explained with a half-smile.

The bartender looked at them both quizzically, as if he to say, 'funny way to celebrate innit?', but kept his mouth shut and he returned to the bar after thanking them again.

"If you're going to tip that well then let me give you some money Harry." Hermione stated after the bartender had cleared the booth.

"No Hermione, you paid for everything last year. You can cover next time."

"Not if you tip that high, I won't be able to afford it," joked Hermione.

"Oh stop now, things aren't that bad for you."

"No, I guess not. But in reality, if I were compensated for all the work I do for the ministry I'd be richer than you."

"Merlin forbid you actually get compensated for the work you do."

"Merlin forbid," Hermione agreed as she lifted her glass. Harry raised his as well.

"To being here with you," she stated.

Harry heartily agreed, "There's no one else in the world that I'd rather share this booth with; especially on this day."

Their glasses clinked together as they drank to one another's company and acknowledged a past they would never escape. But with every passing drink they would try to forget, if only for one night.

/

Blaise and Draco wasted no time putting down rapid shots of whiskey. They tried nearly every brand the bar held twice over. None of them were as good as wizarding standard in their opinion, and none of them seem to affect them quiet as well.

Or so they boasted.

They didn't realize, even with the many times they had wandered out to muggle bars, that muggle alcohol was merely slower at affecting the system but it was just as potent in the same quantities. Even had they realized it, neither would ever be so humble that they would admit it aloud.

"I feel dirty just touching this filth," stated Draco with a sneer as he paid the bartender with the muggle money he'd had converted from wizarding currency just for the occasion.

They were both immensely high tippers only for the reason that they didn't quite grasp the conversion of muggle currency. They didn't really care; muggle money had no worth to them even if they could calculate its worth in galleons. It was all a joke to them. Paying the bartender was like overindulging a child with sweets for the sheer amusement in it.

"I thought you said this place would be busy," stated Blaise as he threw back another shot of Maker's Mark.

"I thought it would be. Maybe it's because of the rain." Draco shrugged as he looked out the window. It appeared that the rain was starting to let up.

"I say we go walk around and find another bar. Hardly anyone is in here and I'm not too keen on associating myself with any of these dirty muggles patrons."

Draco turned around and surveyed his surroundings. Blaise was right, this place was far from flattering and he didn't spot a single person that would work out for what he had planned.

"You're right, let's go." He left a large bill on the counter to cover the rest of their bill and tip and walked out of the bar.

Draco scrunched his nose up in distaste of the falling rain spitting on his face. It was more irritating than anything. He would rather it be down pouring than sort-of raining.

They walked a few blocks away, moving at a fast pace until they spotted a pub harboring a decent crowd inside. Draco looked up at the sign above the door and read, 'Stone Inn'. Seemed decent enough and there was a fairly large number of lively young-individuals inside.

Draco looked to Blaise for approval but Blaise was already heading inside before him, anxious to get out of the weather. "I guess this works," Draco spoke to himself before following Blaise inside.

The alcohol they'd consumed at the last bar was just beginning to hit them. Regardless, they ordered two more drinks, whiskey mixed with ginger ale, and took a seat at the crowded bar.

"Are you going to tell me what you have planned for us tonight other than getting shit faced?" asked Blaise.

"I think we should find some stupid muggle girl and have a bit of fun with her," responded Draco with a deviant smirk.

Blaise looked at him with a nauseous expression, "I don't think I could keep it up for a muggle long enough to even do that."

Draco rolled his eyes in annoyance, "I didn't mean it like _that_. Just follow my lead and do what I say. I'll make sure you're entertained tonight."

"I'm sure," Blaise raised the tumbler to his lips and took a sip as he scanned the bar area for a muggle girl that might 'entertain' him.

It didn't take long before he caught eyes with an impaired brunette ogling them from the other side of the bar.

Blaise leaned in and tapped Draco on the side of his arm. "Draco-over there. That girl."

Draco looked up and matched glances with the girl. She smiled at them and began to walk over.

"Yeah," Draco considered her more as she walked towards them. "She'll do."

The girl confidently pushed herself between the two men. "How're you boys doing tonight?" she moderately slurred.

"We're doing alright," lulled Draco as his eyes inspected her without restraint.

"Can we buy you a drink?" Blaise asked as he pressed in over the girls shoulder.

"No, I've had enough to drink tonight. But maybe…" the girl bit her bottom lip and returned the predatory look-over Draco was giving her before 'unconsciously' wetting her lips, slowly letting her tongue slide back over her top lip before it returned to her mouth. "Maybe you can offer me something else?"

"Perhaps. You're a bit forward aren't you?" questioned Draco, amused with how blatant she was. This was going to be far too easy; almost wasn't fair…almost.

"Yeah, well" the girl shrugged her shoulders with attitude, "Guess I know what I like when I see it."

"A woman who knows what she wants is very attractive," Draco agreed.

"Exactly. So what do you boys say, let's get out of here?"

Draco slapped a large bill down on the counter and turned to leave, "After you"

The girl looked impressed with the money Draco was throwing around. She sauntered past the two of them as they followed close behind her and out the door.

If her drink hadn't depleted at that moment, causing her to look up and check if the bartender was on his way over, she wouldn't have noticed the two men leave the bar.

"Was that just Malfoy I saw?" Hermione wondered out loud.

"What?" Harry wasn't sure if he'd heard her correctly. The alcohol he had consumed had gripped him firmly by that point.

"I just saw Malfoy just leave with some muggle girl, and I'm pretty sure I saw Blaise with him" she restated.

Harry sighed and shook his head, "So much for a peaceful night. Do'ya think we should go after him? We're not exactly clear minded right now."

"Yes, I realize that but Malfoy mixing around with muggle alcohol and girls cannot be a good thing. We should at least follow him to make sure nothing is awry" Hermione was already out of the booth as she said it.

Harry laid down some more money and stood up; he was a bit shaky at first but quickly regained his balance after gripping the side of the table.

"You alright?" Hermione checked over him.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, oh yeah. Just fine. If we're going to do this, let's just go already"

Hermione cast a disillusionment charm on the two of them after they stepped out of the bar.

"I saw him turn this way" directed Hermione as they made a left turn around the corner and started down the road.

"So, where do you blokes live?"

"We're not really from this area" said Blaise as he closed in behind her, purposely invading her space as they walked. She picked her pace up a bit to put some distance between her and Blaise, moving closer to Draco in the process.

Draco put his arm around her and calmed her down. "We're into more…"Draco fished for the right word to suggest his intentions, _"public_ displays of affections. We were both kind of hoping you might be up for that."

"Like out in the open?" the woman clarified.

"Precisely. Is that a problem?" asked Draco innocently.

"No…I-I guess not."

"Great. I know just the place," Draco was making his best attempt to appear suave and charming. The girl was so wasted it didn't take much. She was practically swooning over him as he led her up the fire escape of a nearby building until they were standing on the rooftop.

"It's chilly up here" observed the woman as she held onto herself.

"We'll fix that shortly" said Blaise as he ran his hand down her arm. It made her feel colder. He gave her the creeps and had Draco not been the one doing most of the talking, she would have split from the two of them shortly after they left the bar. But there was something about the look Draco was giving her that made her want to do anything he asked of her.

It was almost like he could read her thoughts, which he could, as he wrapped his arms around her. "Better?" he asked with his lips dangerously close to her ear. She could feel his hot breath hitting her neck when he spoke.

She nodded her head, "Much."

"Good, I want to make sure you're comfortable."

" I am"

"Good, now tell us what your name is sweetheart" Draco closed the space between them and started to walk her back towards Blaise.

"T-tiffany" she stuttered out her name.

"Tiffany," Draco repeated. "Well Tiffany tonight is your lucky night. Do you want to know why?"

"W-why?" Tiffany's back was now flush against Blaise's torso as she stood facing Draco.

"Because my friend and I have a special gift we want to share with you. Do you like gifts Tiffany?"

Tiffany nodded; she was nervous but still slightly intrigued.

"But before we can show you this gift Tiffany, we have to know that you trust us. Do you trust us Tiffany?"

She hesitated to respond.

"Okay, don't trust Blaise. That's probably smart." Draco smiled, seeing him smile calmed her down. He tried to ease her nerves a bit more and took hold of her hands, "Do you trust me Tiffany?" His voice was as low as a whisper.

"I trust you" Tiffany sounded hypnotized, in a daze as she stared into the mysterious gray eyes before her.

Draco looked back behind Tiffany and made eye contact with Blaise, signaling that he needed him to pay attention.

"I have a gift Tiffany," Draco stated, "that allows me to walk on thin air without falling."

Draco didn't look up at him but saw in his peripheral vision Blaise nod to show that he was following where he was going with this

"What?" said Tiffany. She started to back away from Draco but only ran into Blaise once again.

"You don't believe me?" Draco's eye brows rose as he stepped forwards to reclose the space between them.

"Pfft, no. How drunk d'you think I am?" responded Tiffany with a light air of confidence returning to her tone.

"It's the truth, Love," confirmed Blaise as he ran his hands down the sides of her arms again. He felt her shiver this time.

"Let me show you," Draco offered.

Blaise had his wand out and concealed in his sleeve. He cast a simple hover charm on Draco as he stepped over to the edge of the roof. Draco looked back at Tiffany and smiled.

"What are you doing?" She had a sense of panic in her voice and was about to pull Draco back onto the roof but Blaise took hold of her arm and held her back.

"Just watch," Draco assured her. He took a dramatically deep breath and stepped off of the ledge. His balance was a bit off but he was indeed levitating.

Tiffany gasped. "Oh my god!" Blaise let go of her and her arm dropped in disbelief as her mouth hung open.

Draco smirked, "I told you. Now let me ask you again. Do you trust me Tiffany?"

"I-I guess so, Yeah, sure"

Apparently Tiffany had terrible judgment in men. She had trusted them even though she didn't know either of their names. It was just further evidence to Blaise and Draco of how inferior muggles were. They couldn't believe their luck. This was far too easy.

Draco outstretched his hand to Tiffany, "Then walk out to me."

Tiffany looked back at Blaise who nodded his head in assurance, "Go ahead, he won't let you fall."

Draco looked down at the cement below him to double check his intentions. They were high up but he was fairly certain the fall wouldn't kill her. She might be slightly mangled, or crippled, but she would definitely survive the fall.

When Draco looked back up Tiffany was standing on the ledge of the building with Blaise standing behind her, encouraging her to step forward.

"I'm right here" assured Draco, his arms still outstretched, "Just walk out and come towards me."

Tiffany was shaking mildly but she kept her eyes latched onto Draco's, "Just like Peter Pan and Wendy right?"

"Sure…just like that," Draco didn't know what the hell she was talking about.

Her voice was trembling with nerves, "Okay. I-I'm coming. I-I trust you."

She let her foot walk out over the edge, balancing on one foot for the slightest of moments before letting go and stepping completely off the ledge.

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A/N: Cliffhanger! Or should I say _Roof_hanger ;) Ha! I'm so funny… Anywho, I have to go to work now. Not really in the mood for it. But I don't make any money writing fanfictions all day! Wouldn't it be wonderful if I could? What do they call that in the real world? Becoming a real author?

Let me know what you think in your reviews. I read them all and enjoy every one! Thanks for reading!


	5. Plummeting

_At this point in my life I've done so many things wrong I don't know if I can do right… You see it's been a hard road the road I'm traveling on and if I take your hand I might lead you down the path to ruin. I've had a hard life. I'm just saying it so you'll understand. _

–_Tracy Chapman_

_._

Tiffany plummeted downward towards the concrete; she barely had time to let out a blood-curdling scream when she came to an abrupt and lurching halt.

She looked beneath her and saw a curly haired woman and black haired man standing there with their arms outstretched. They were both holding onto a stick pointed directly at her. When their arms began to lower she too began to slowly descend until her feet were touching safely on solid ground.

"I'll get them" growled Harry, looking upwards to where Draco had just stepped back onto the roof. Harry apparated up to where they were and even in an intoxicated state was able to apprehend them both before they managed to flee the scene.

Hermione held onto Tiffany, who was shaking terribly. They had to get her to the Ministry to have her memory reset. It wouldn't be difficult. She would wake up in the morning believing she blacked out from alcohol.

This was not how Hermione had anticipated spending her night.

"I'm sorry for this." Hermione said to Tiffany. She held onto her and apparated her up to the roof. Tiffany was screaming, unaware of what was happening to her when they landed.

"Do you have them?' Hermione asked Harry.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You didn't need to come up."

"Yes I did Harry. You're half drunk. I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine" he assured her.

Draco and Blaise were magically bound to one another, hands behind their backs, facing opposite directions as they struggled to free themselves.

"It's no use, so don't try to fight against it" Harry told them. "I'll take them in, you just worry about the girl" said Harry. He grabbed onto the scruff of Draco's shirt and pulled them along.

/

"Feel good about yourself Potter?" Draco sneered as Harry led him and Blaise to a holding cell within the ministry. "Bet you've dreamt of this day for years, haven't you?"

"Only in my wildest dreams Draco, only then," Harry teased with a shake of his head as he locked the door and unbound them using his wand from the other side of the cell.

Draco and Blaise both rubbed out the tenseness in their wrists where they were now faint restraint lines.

"I will admit that I never bought the idea that you or your family ever changed Malfoy," said Harry through the bars.

"Don't begin to speculate about my family Potter. You don't know anything about us."

"Trust me, I know plenty more than I should."

"I'm sure that's what you believe. Always thought you knew everything better than anyone else," criticized Draco.

"Well Draco, I do believe I know a bit more than you. At least that it's illegal to lure muggle women off of rooftops to their deaths. Or did you miss that part of muggle studies?"

"We weren't luring her to her death," interjected Blaise, walking up to the bars next to where Draco was standing opposite of Harry.

"We were just going to levitate her. Show her a bit of magic is all," claimed Draco with a twisted smirk.

"Were you now?" said Harry in disbelief. "I'm sure. Even then-still illegal, Draco. You can't go flaunting your magic to get laid by muggle girls"

Draco grabbed onto the rails in anger at the comment. "I would never touch a filthy muggle in that way Scarhead. Even the thought of it disgust me."

Harry smiled and kept provoking him, "I understand though, really-I do. It must be hard to find a girlfriend with a reputation like yours. Can't expect to end up with anyone half decent, can you? Dirty blood doesn't look half bad when you're desperate and alone."

Draco was glaring daggers at him. If those bars weren't in his way, his hands would be tightly wound around Potter's throat. _'Let's see him talk then,' _thought Draco.

"You're not doing yourself any favors now. I don't know what will happen to Zabini here, but you have a record and the judge is sure to be hard on you. I can only hope that it's Percy presiding over the Wizengamont on the day of your trial. Merlin knows how much you respect his family and you can be sure I'm going to be there when he passes your sentence."

Harry Potter gave both Malfoy and Zabini a sarcastically-friendly smile and walked off.

Draco growled in frustration, turned and punched the wall.

"Don't get frustrated just yet. It's not like you'll end up in Azkaban over this," said Blaise as he took a seat on the only bench in the cell.

Draco let out a faint laugh, "Won't I? You don't get it Zabini, they're going to spin this around and make it look like we were going to murder that girl."

"Weren't we?" said Blaise with a chuckle.

Draco looked around before he answered, "I wouldn't talk like that. You never know who's listening. And for the record," Draco was speaking out to any potential eavesdroppers more so than to Blaise, "No, we weren't going to kill that girl. We were just having a bit of reckless fun. That's all."

"Get a decent attorney Draco. I'm telling you, you'll be fine." Blaise leaned his head back against the wall and shut his eyes. But Draco couldn't rest.

He knew he was in a lot of trouble.

/

Hermione handed Tiffany over to the Memory alteration department and sought out Harry. He was waiting of her in her office, sitting in the corner with a drink.

Hermione grabbed the whiskey bottle from his hand and put it back in her drawer.

"How'd you find my hiding place?" she asked as she shut the drawer.

"Not much of a hiding place," Harry chuckled and took a drink. "You look like you need one yourself."

Hermione huffed and reopened the door. She grabbed the second tumbler and poured herself a short drink.

"I told Draco that I'm going to do everything I can to make sure Percy takes his case," said Harry smugly.

Hermione adamantly shook her head in disagreement.

"No? What? Why not?"

"No, he doesn't belong in Azkaban Harry."

"He was going to kill that girl Hermione. You saw what he did."

"But he didn't. Yes, he's a moron but he's not a murderer. You know as well as I do that he's perfect for my program. They both are."

"No, they're not. At this point, he probably doesn't even know how to do the right thing. If he did, he wouldn't have been up on that roof tonight!" argued Harry.

"Exactly Harry, he's been brought up to believe all of these rubbish lies when it comes to muggles! He doesn't know the truth of what's right. I can teach him that he doesn't have to live like his father, he can behave like a decent wizard."

"You sound absolutely nutters Hermione."

"I do not!" objected Hermione with a stomp of her foot. "You're not thinking clearly because you're drunk!" she accused.

"I'm drunk? Hermione, you're standing here trying to convince me that Malfoy has a shot of becoming a decent human being."

"Because it's the truth. Think of it this way Harry. If I can make one of my most hated enemies treat me with respect, than the wizarding world won't be able to deny that this program works. Malfoy has always hated me for my blood status and if I can turn that kind of thinking around in him, I can do it in anyone!"

"People already know what that your program works Hermione! Look at the work you did with Selwyn! He went from torturing wizards and muggles alike to donating wizarding funds for muggles causes! He's married a muggle born and he credits his turn-around completely to you and your program! After his turn-about, no one doubts you. No one! Even Percy is starting to openly support what you do. I say we slam the sharp blade of the law down on Malfoy's greasy little head and let him suffer for what he's done."

"For what he's done to Tiffany or what he's done to me and you? Because Tiffany is fine. She's not going to remember a bit of this. She has no injuries and is completely unharmed. They're both perfect candidates for my program and I have every intention of helping them change. I'm not going to suggest that amendable wizards be severely punished because I hold a personal grudge."

"Fine, then don't. But that' doesn't mean we need to help him. Either of them. Zabini is just as much a stuck up little slime ball as Malfoy. I'm glad to see them behind bars right now because they both belong in a cell. They would stab you in the back in a heartbeat if you turned your back on them. I know that because they would do it to each other. They have no honor, no rules, no code, nothing good that they value- "

"You're just angry because of old school ties Harry. I thought that kind of thinking was beneath you."

"Well, I guess not," said Harry as he stood up. He slammed his unfinished drink down on Hermione's desk, reached across and grabbed her arm, pushing her sleeve up to her elbow to reveal her scar. "What I know is that Malfoy stood there and did _nothing_ while Lestrange did this to you. He was willing to stand there like a coward and watched you die in his own home, and I know he wouldn't have lost a minute of sleep over it. He's a monster in his heart and I hope he rots in jail."

There was so much anger and malice in Harry's voice that it shook Hermione up. She didn't know what to say as she slowly pulled her sleeve back down after Harry had gruffly let go of her, "Have a good night Hermione," he bid with anger still in his voice, "I'll see you tomorrow."

He left before Hermione could say goodbye; slamming the door behind him.

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A/N: Anyone want to go to Math class for me? Then I can stay home and write some more? Please? No takers? Boo :(

Don't forget to review, review, and then review some more! Thanks!

Oh, almost forgot! In need of some good Dramione suggestions here on . I've been browsing through and haven't really found many stories that have kept my interest lately. So, if you have any good recommendations PLEASE let me know! okthnxbi


	6. The Unwelcome Friend

_God knows what is hiding in this world of little consequence; behind the tears, inside the lies…God knows what is hiding in those weak and drunken hearts…oh save me… if I had a brain, I'd be cold as a stone…_

_-Birdy_

_._

For the second time in his life, Draco found himself bound in shackles and taking the long march down to the court rooms. Blaise was beside him this time as they were to be tried together. He didn't know whether this was good luck for him or bad lack for Blaise to be associated with him in a court of law. The Wizengamont was sure to go light on Blaise because it was his first offense, right? So that meant they might go light on him too?

He could only hope.

Draco took a hard swallow and braced himself as they were marched before the Wizengamont. Additional restraints bound them to their chairs as the court commenced.

Draco didn't recognize the Chief Warlock in front of them. All he knew was that it wasn't Percy Weasley, and for that he was grateful.

Until he saw Harry Potter sitting on the sidelines smiling. That couldn't mean anything good for him.

'_I'm fucked,'_ thought Draco as he slumped down in his seat as much as the chains would let him.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Zabini," The Chief Warlock spoke, "You are both being charged this day with purposely endangering the life of a muggle. How do you plead?"

Neither Draco nor Blaise had to say anything as their attorneys stepped forth and entered a plea of Not Guilty on their behalves.

Draco could see Harry Potter shaking his head, a light chuckles still splayed onto his face. What Draco wouldn't give to knock that smile right off of his scarred face.

Draco squinted his eyes and scowled in Harry's direction. He was sure it didn't cast him in a very positive light in front of the judge, but he didn't care. If Harry Potter was this happy about his current situation in court, he was screwed either way. The Chief Warlock was probably friends with him, or maybe he had signed an autograph for the judge before the hearing.

'_Stupid Potter, ever the celebrity,'_ thought Draco with disdain.

"Not Guilty boys? So then, amuse me. Tell me why, exactly, were you dangling a muggle woman off a rooftop?"

'_Dangling? They weren't dangling anybody'._ From the way the Chief Warlock was spinning things thus far, Draco knew he was finished. Why bother defending himself? There was a guaranteed cell in Azkaban with his name on it.

"Your Honor, we're not claiming that what we did was smart, or right by any means. We're merely saying that you're charging us incorrectly," spoke up Blaise sounding calm and collected in his cocoon of chains.

"The wrong charge?" asked the Chief Warlock, a bemused expression on his face.

"Yes, we inappropriately used magic in front of a muggle. That much is true, but we had no intention of harming her. The only reason she began to fall was because Granger and Potter showed up unexpectedly and startled us."

"The statement left by those officers says that she was cascading to her death when they arrived on the scene."

'_Cascading to her death? Those words had to of be written by Potter, no doubt,'_ Draco sulked.

"We were drinking that night and stupidly thought that it would be impressive to her if we showed off and levitated ourselves. It worked at first but then she wanted us to do the same to her. We were hovering her when Potter broke our concentration and she began to fall. We would have saved her before she hit the bottom if he hadn't," claimed Blaise.

"Upon inspection, your wands were not shown to have used a Wingradium Leviosa Charm," countered the judge as he double checked the statements laid in front of him.

"Both Draco and myself are moderately efficient at wandless magic Your Honor. We didn't cast the spell out loud. We wanted her to think we were more mysterious than that. We made a lot of bad decisions that night but we weren't trying to kill or hurt her, I assure you," said Blaise.

The Chief warlock eyed them both suspiciously. "Is this testament the truth Mr. Malfoy"

"It is," audibly muttered Draco.

"I'm very disappointed to see you in this court room today Mr. Malfoy. It says on your record that you are a known death eater-"

"Former deatheater," interjected Draco's attorney.

'_Oh, now he speaks up,'_ thought Draco and fought the urge to roll his eyes in front of the judge.

"My wife was tortured by a death eater during the war, did you know that?" said the Chief Warlock leaning forward.

'_Delightful'_ Draco answered, "No, I did not know that, Your Honor. What an unfortunate incident. I'm very sorry to hear that happened to her and I hope that she is well and unharmed."

"She managed," answered the Chief Warlock as he pursed his lips tightly and leaned forward. "I'm telling you this Mr. Malfoy because I do not take the torturing of muggles lightly, intended or not."

"Your Honor, if I may interject." spoke up a voice suddenly.

'_Harry Potter stopped smiling. What happened?'_ noticed Draco. He tried to turn his head around towards the voice but his restrains wouldn't allow him the room to do so.

"Ms. Granger, I wasn't expecting you in court today. Surely you realize that your formal written statement was sufficient and that you are not required to present yourself," clarified the Chief Warlock.

Hermione stepped forward and stood between both of their attorneys. She was dressed in her court robes, her hair pulled up tightly in a bun, smooth dark stockings on her legs, and black pumps on her feet.

Draco caught himself diverting his eyes up Hermione's legs. They were surprisingly distracting. He forced himself to look back at Potter in order to keep them from running up Hermione's skirt next and was happy to find that Potter looked very angry. That had to be a good sign at the least. What in Merlin's name was Granger doing here? Surely, she wasn't going to help his case.

"I came to offer my recommendation Your Honor," stated Hermione.

"It wasn't asked for," sternly said the Chief Warlock.

"I realize that but I believe it necessary for me to appear today, before the court, and inform you that Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Zabini would be prime candidates for my reformation program. I am sure you are aware of it?"

"I'm quite aware of it Ms. Granger. But from Mr. Potter's statement, these men don't seem suitable to be sent out into a muggle community. They're dangerous-"

Hermione had the gall to interrupt him, "You'll also notice on my statement that I don't believe them to be dangerous at all; not by court definition."

"Then you and Mr. Potter disagree," he said as if her opinion didn't matter in the slightest. "I feel inclined to air on the side of safety Ms. Granger," retorted the Chief Warlock, still ruffled by her interruption.

Hermione pursed her lips and took a deep breath. It reminded Draco fiercely of McGonagall when she was about to tell someone off for breaking the rules.

"Mr. Potter has a personal vendetta against Mr. Malfoy and a strong dislike for Mr. Zabini. His statement was swayed more by his personal anger than the facts of that night. If released into my program, I will take personal responsibility in seeing that they are reformed and turned into reputable citizens of the wizarding community who not only respect muggles but are willing to live among them peacefully."

"That is quite the declaration," the Chief Wizard commented.

"I'm fully prepared to stand by it," said Hermione confidently as she raised her posture.

'_Again with the legs,_' Draco turned his head and looked back at Harry, whose mouth was hanging open in disbelief. He looked very angry with Hermione and Draco allowed himself to feel a bit of hope for his situation.

"And you can guarantee their success?"

"I can guarantee no one's success. That is entirely their responsibility. But if they fail my program I will be the first person to recommend maximum sentences in Azkaban for the both of them."

"You're willing to gamble their freedom for your cause Ms. Granger?"

"I don't see it as gambling Your Honor. I want to give them a chance to prove their intentions. Mr. Zabini says that they were merely trying to impress Tiffany. That shows that they don't have any qualms with muggles, at least not muggle women. If that's the case, than what he says is true and they had no intention of seeing her hurt. One can then assume they would pass my program with flying colors, no problems encountered. If they fail my program, then they're both lying in a court of law and deserve to receive the maxim punishment of your initial charging."

"This is your recommendation should they fail?" clarified the Chief Warlock.

"It is."

'_What exactly is going on?'_ Draco wondered. What program? Were they about to get off scot-free? Because of Granger? Was she getting them off so that she could seek some kind of personal revenge against him? Should he be worried? He didn't know what to think of the turn of events playing out in front of him.

The Chief Warlock looked deep in consideration. He turned and deliberated with the witch and wizards sitting to the right of him. They nodded and whispered, pointing their fingers around as they spoke with their hands.

Draco looked over to Blaise who was looking straight back at him with as much confusion as he felt.

'What's going on?' mouthed Blaise.

'No idea' mouthed back Draco.

Blaise's attorney turned around and whispered to Blaise, "This is a good thing, trust me. Ms. Granger is saving both of you. I don't know what you did to get on her good side but most wizards appeal for months to receive placement in her program."

Before Blaise could relay this information back to Draco the Chief Warlock addressed the court, "Very Well Ms. Granger. Have your way. Mr. Zabini, Mr. Malfoy, please stand."

The restraints from the chains were let off of them, but their hands remained bound at the wrists. They stood up uneasily, unable to use their hands to brace themselves.

"You are both found guilty of inappropriate use of magic in front of a muggle. Your sentence will stand as follows; you will both be entered into the death eater reformation program where you will be under the care and direction of Ms. Granger and her staff. If you do not complete this program, or fail out of it you will be individually charged with purposely endangering the life of a muggle to the fullest extent of the law. Let me remind you Mr. Malfoy, that if charged apart from Mr. Zabini you will face a harsher consequence than this due to your history. Do I make myself clear?"

'_What could be harsher than the fullest extent of the law?'_ Draco wondered. He didn't want to know.

They both nodded, "Yes Your Honor."

"In accordance with the reformation program; you will lose all access to your Gringotts accounts, your wands are henceforth claimed by the ministry until your completion of the program, and you will have no communication with any members of the wizarding world outside of ministry approval or Ms. Granger's authority. As of this moment, you are both now placed in her care." The judge slammed down his gavel and stood up. "Court is adjourned."

Hermione looked up at Harry, who looked furious with her and mouthed, "I'm sorry but I had to."

Two court officers came in and led Draco and Blaise into a room adjacent to the court where they were instructed to wait for Hermione.

/

Hermione went to find Harry before meeting up with them. He had been looking for her too and they met up in the hallway.

"Why did you do that?" yelled Harry.

"Harry Potter, lower your voice! You know exactly why I did that. It was the right thing to do."

"Not for them! Especially not for Draco! There are so many other wizards waiting for this chance and you just wasted two spots on them!"

"Well it's already done Harry so you can get over being mad about it."

"I'm not doing anything for that ferret," promised Harry. He was shaking from anger.

"Fine, I wasn't planning on asking you to. You'd just flaw his record anyway. You hate him too much."

"Damn right I do and you should too."

"I'm having you take Blaise's case."

"What?"

"You're my partner Harry. We work together. I'm putting Blaise in with your caseload. Send another officer under your care to meet up with him if you want to and just push his papers around for all I care. But you know as well as I do that whatever happened on that rooftop was Draco's idea. Blaise was never a death eater and he has real, undisputable potential to be helped from this program. Surely, you must agree with that?"

"I guess so," muttered Harry with his arms crossed tightly across his chest.

"Okay then. They're both waiting for us. Are you coming with me or not?"

Harry was silent as he walked past her, towards the room that was holding both Draco and Blaise.

/

The door slammed open violently, nearly startling Draco and Blaise out of their seats.

"Stay seated and shut up," commanded Harry as he pointed his finger directly at Draco and walked inside, Hermione following closely behind him.

"When are you gonna take these blasted things off of us?" complained Draco about his restraints.

Harry walked behind them and took off Blaise's restraints but left Draco bound.

"I told you to shut up," Harry repeated forcefully then sat down at the table across from them. Hermione sat down beside him, and even though she could have undone Draco's restraints herself she decided to leave it alone. It felt best not to test Harry in that moment.

"I want to make it clear to both of you that you don't deserve this opportunity in the slightest. You are beyond lucky that Hermione took pity on you for whatever reason-"

"I don't need the pity of a mudblood," replied Draco as he sneered in Hermione's direction.

Harry clenched his fist into a ball and refrained from punching Draco in the face. He took a deep breath and resumed talking, "Let me remind you that your freedom is completely dependent on the reports that 'mudblood' gives to the court about you. You may want to consider calling her by her name if you don't want to end up in Azkaban."

"What's going to happen to us now?" asked Blaise, diverting the argument before Draco got himself locked up within the hour.

"You're both going to be living as muggles for a year," explained Harry.

"What?" Draco nearly fell out of his seat.

"Don't worry," assured Hermione. "We're going to enroll you in a few classes to prepare you for your living situations over the next year. You'll be plenty prepared by the time we release you to the muggle world. Once you complete those classes we will assign you with an apartment. The first month's expenses will be covered for you. During that time you will be required to obtain a job in the muggle world so that you can support yourself."

Draco looked like he was going to be sick. This was a nightmare; it had to be a nightmare.

"You will be monitored on your progress throughout this time. Sometimes your check-up sessions will be carried out with me or Harry and other times they will not. You should be aware that we have several officers working within our department who will be watching you at random to in ensure that you are not a threat to yourself or others, and are not attempting to make contact with the wizarding world. If is it discovered that you purposely make contact with the wizarding world without the consent of myself, Harry or the ministry you will be automatically withdrawn from the program."

"And sent to Azkaban," Harry reminded Draco with a smile.

"Granger, you should have just done me a favor and left me at the mercy of the judge," moaned Draco as if his life was over.

"And miss out on the opportunity to prove you wrong? Never," Hermione lightly teased.

Draco obviously didn't find her funny as he silently glared across the table.

"Malfoy, I know you hate muggles and muggleborns more than anyone I know. You're going to learn that your hate has been frivolous and I hope this makes your life better in the long run." Hermione then turned and spoke directly to Blaise, "I don't know much about your story Blaise but I know that this program will be beneficial for you as well. Harry is going to be in charge of your journey through the program and I'm confidant you will be successful. You don't need to worry about facing any jail time if you do what he says," Hermione assured him.

"And who's in charge of me?" Draco didn't want to know, because he already suspected it.

"The mudblood," answered Harry sarcastically, "aren't you lucky?"

"I'm thrilled," answered Draco with a roll of the eyes. "and surprised. I didn't take you as the type to play with your prey before killing it Granger."

"I'm not going to play with you Draco. I honestly want you to get better."

"I don't need to get better, I'm not sick. Nothing is wrong with me," Draco was starting to get really irritated in this small room hardly big enough for four people, especially with your hands bound behind your back. He began to fidget, a scowl plastered on his face. To Harry and Hermione, he looked like a child on the verge of throwing a tantrum.

"Reformed then," Hermione replaced her original choice of words. She could see that Draco was immensely uncomfortable. "If I release you from your restraints are you going to be compliant Draco?"

"I'm not going to attack anyone if that's what you mean," sneered Draco.

"Let him suffer a little longer," requested Harry.

"_Yes_, I'll be compliant," Draco spat in agitation.

"Okay then." Hermione got up and walked behind his chair. Draco let out a sigh of relief as his hands were freed and blood coursed its way back through his wrists.

"When do we start?" asked Blaise quietly, his head was bent down in despair. He wasn't any more thrilled about his circumstance than Draco.

"Tomorrow," Hermione was chirpy in her response. She was the only person in the room genuinely excited about their upcoming endeavor.

.

.

.

.

.

Draco seems just about as excited as a kid getting coal for Christmas! Whoopie! I just love being cruel to him, hehe!

Thanks for the Dramione suggestions! Good stories help me pass the time when my muse won't let me write. I'm loving your reviews so far! Keep them coming; they feed my muse and in return my muse feeds me. XD


	7. Lessons Hard To Swallow

_Swallow it down (what a jagged little pill)…Wait until the dust settles: You live, you learn; you lose, you learn; you scream, you learn…_

_-Alanis Morissette_

.

If it weren't for the subject matter she was trying to teach, Draco might have thought Mrs. Robinson was a very attractive witch. Unfortunately, there was nothing more repulsive to Draco than a woman trying to teach him how to operate muggle contraptions like microwaves, electric shavers, irons, and washing machines. She was so enthusiastic about it too, like she really enjoyed talking about muggles all day. It didn't make any sense to him.

Draco placed a piece of bread into the slot and pressed down a large button located at the end of the small contraption in front of him. Blaise was across the room from him using a giant basin that mixed around clothing until they were clean and another that tumbled them until they were dry. Draco folded his arms and waited. Mrs. Robinson made her way across the room and peered over his shoulder.

"Oh no, no, no, Mr. Malfoy! Look this scenario over and tell me what you did wrong here," she critiqued.

"I didn't do anything wrong. I put the bread inside of the toter-"

"_Toaster_, it's called a toaster Mr. Malfoy," corrected Mrs. Robinson.

Draco's teeth clenched, "Toaster" Draco corrected himself as his teeth began to grind in irritation. "and then I pressed the button just like you showed us."

"Yes but you forgot to set it first. See?" She reached in and turned a few knobs.

"This button that you have selected is for bagels. We're just making toast. So turn this here…and then if you have it set this high you're going to burn it because this bread is quite thin, isn't it?"

The one thing he hated more than a muggle studies teacher was an instructor that taught in questions. Draco took a deep breath and tried to remain calm.

"What's say you try this again, okay? Now, go take that box over there that says pop-tarts. Read the directions and prepare one for me. I'll be over in a few minutes to check on your progress. So much to learn, so little time!"

Draco rolled his eyes and made his way over to the pop-tart box, hating his life the entire way over.

/

Draco and Blaise were currently roommates in a half-way house. It would be the same house they would return to upon the completion of their program.

Draco had just finished complaining about making toast and how irritating Mrs. Robinson was when there came a knock at the door.

"Come in," answered Blaise. It wasn't as if they had a choice.

Hermione peeked her head in, "How are we doing today?"

"Filled with information we never thought we'd learn or ever wanted to," replied Draco dryly.

"I can't believe how dependent these muggles are on contraptions. These classes are only confirming how far beneath us they are," explained Blaise.

"You think that now but when you're assigned your apartments you're going to need every bit of information you're learning here. Even how to make a pop tart Draco. If you get hungry when you're on your own there won't be any house elves around to make dinner for you."

'_Great, Granger gets to watch all of my short-comings and down falls throughout this painful process,'_ thought Draco when he realized Hermione had somehow witnessed his escapade with the toaster earlier.

Hermione walked further inside, but left the door open behind her. "When you complete your programs-"

"_If_ we complete them you mean?" corrected Blaise pessimistically.

"I prefer to stay positive Mr. Zabini," said Hermione. "When you complete your programs you will be required to attend a bi-weekly group session for three months. It will give you a chance to talk about your experiences and process what you've learned with your peers. You, of course will be able to discuss your experiences at your check-in as well but it's beneficial to talk with someone who's been in your shoes sometimes. I want you both to come down to the meeting room after classes tomorrow and sit in with some of our recent program graduates. I think it will do you good to listen in and hear about what you can expect."

"Are you asking us if we want to go or is this a requirement?" complained Blaise.

"Everything I ask of you is a requirement Mr. Zabini. It is my program after all," Hermione sharply stated before she turned and left.

/

Blaise and Draco were learning about muggle attire the next day. This included muggle hygiene. Draco was going to have to use actual skill to keep his hair meticulously in place, instead of magic. It was already starting to frizz out after just a couple days without his wand and he was starting to grow stubble on his face. He was hesitant to use the razor they gave him, but once he started to use it he found he quickly got the hang of it.

The muggle hair products weren't the best but they were sufficient. What Draco found to be the most annoying about muggle living was all the different tools he had to use each day to accomplish things. Typically, he only had to use his wand for majority of the tasks he encountered in the day. In the muggle world every item you encountered did something different and held a unique purpose. For example, you couldn't use an iron to heat a pop-tart.

"Or could you?" wondered Draco accidently out loud.

"Could you what?" asked Blaise, who was trying to put on a tie.

"What? Nothing. What are you doing?" Blaise was making a mess of himself. "You've never done this by hand before?"

"No, I use a spell. Don't you?"

"No, spells don't get it as tight. Here, let me show you." Draco took hold of the tie and showed Blaise the proper way to do it.

Blaise appeared satisfied and slightly impressed with the result, "See Draco? You're going to make a great muggle."

"Don't you ever say that to me again."

Blaise gave him a cheeky smile, "Shall we move on to the next grueling station?"

"If we must," grumbled Draco as the moved on to the next station.

/

As instructed, Blaise and Draco made their way to the meeting room after their classes finished. There were five other people sitting in a circle and four open chairs among them.

Blaise and Draco took a seat and looked around the room. Two of the people sitting in the circle were women and three were men. Two of the men and one of women had markings all along their arms, including but not limited to the Dark Mark. Draco felt himself pulling his sleeve down a bit.

"We don't hide anything in this room boy," scolded one of the older, tattooed men. The man had ruffled dark brown hair, wrinkles all over his face even though he couldn't possibly be as old as he looked, and it appeared that it had been months since he last shaved. He probably hadn't paid attention to the part of class that showed how to use a razor. Draco was grateful in that moment that he'd figured out how to use a muggle razor; he couldn't imagine what he'd look like with a beard like that. "Don't try to pretend that we don't know what's under that," the man continued.

"I just had an itch," Draco lied.

"Keep lying. You won't make it through the program long if you do," interjected a woman with no markings and long black hair that she had rested over her left shoulder.

Two others came into the room; a young witch and an older wizard. They looked as nervous as Draco and Blaise so they assumed they were new as well.

The door opened a final time and the facilitator entered the room. Draco recognized her the moment he saw eccentric yellow feathers sticking out of her hair band.

"Hello, hello group! As you can see, we have four visitors joining us today! They're just beginning their program. Please welcome Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy, Vanessa Taurus, and Ares Hamilton," she introduced them and pulled another seat up into the circle for herself. "My name is Luna LoveGood for those of you who don't know me. Since we have some new faces today, can we all go around and introduce ourselves? For those of you who have completed the program; say your name, the offense that brought you here and a word of advice for our new comers. For those of you joining us for the first time just state your name and offense for the group. I want you all to realize that we all have done things we regret, we understand you and together we're going to move past those actions in exchange for a healthy and positive mentality towards muggles! Leo, would you like to begin?"

"Sure," gruffed the man who had called out Draco. He scratched his arm, running his dirty nails across his dark mark. "My name is Leo Briggs…I have two weeks left of group before my program is over and I'm here because I planted some dittany on the lawns of some muggles I didn't like…didn't know 'em but I didn't like 'em," Draco noticed he resisted a smile as he said it. "And for those of you who don't know what dittany is, you only need to know that it's pretty flammable. Guess I did some serious damage to all of their lawns."

"To their _lawns _Mr. Briggs?" said Luna.

"…and their houses," he reluctantly continued. " 'spose if the ministry hadn't arrived when they did I probably would've burned 'em all down. And what else was it? Er…yea…some advice 'fer ya…uh…I guess, Don't think about everything you're leaving behind. Your friends, family, magic, your wand, all of that. You have to forget who you are right now or else you'll drive yourself crazy believing nothing is good enough for you. Enter this program as if you have nothing because that's exactly what you have."

Leo folded his arms and leaned back in his chair as he finished speaking. Luna smiled at him and looked encouragingly to the person sitting next to him.

This woman had short hair that had been badly died a shade of burgundy. She had markings on her arms that were similar to Leo's, including the dark mark; which she made no attempt to hide.

"My name is Serenity Ivy and I'm here because I sent a Dark Mark into the sky during a muggle festival. My advice to you is to make friends while you're out there because if you don't appear social, they're going to assume you're plotting something. If they think that you're plotting, they watch you more and you increase your chances of getting kicked out of the program. You may think you don't want to be here now, but believe me; you don't want to get kicked out because things will only be worse off for you."

She said her peace and Luna didn't press her to say anymore.

The next man was named Terrance Yules. He was small but covered in scars, markings and an array of tattoos. From the look of it, half were muggle tattoos. Maybe it had been his way to cope with his severance from the wizarding world during his program? He told the group he was an animagus. He could transform into a lion and had purposely transformed himself in the middle of a popular zoo, terrifying the muggles who thought that the animals were escaping when he chased them around, biting at their ankles. His advice was to find a hobby to pass the time to keep out of trouble.

The woman with long black hair eyed Draco up before speaking, "My first piece of advice would be to lose the attitude," she said directly to him. "None of your enemies are in this room, and none of them will be out there. They reside in the Wizengamont and there is nothing you can do about the sentence you've received so get over it." Draco felt his face twitch as he did his best not to glare at the woman. "My name is Georgia Reeves and I'm here because I tried to get the Dark Mark after the war." She showed her bare arm, "Obviously I wasn't successful in obtaining it."

That explained why she had snapped at him. She didn't care about his honesty or success. She was jealous that Draco had the mark and she didn't. She was upset because he had been trying to conceal it instead of flaunting it around like she would have if she'd been given one. Draco couldn't help the proud smirk that overcame his features as he inched his sleeve up, barely showing off the mark underneath. He let his arm casually drop and turn towards her direction and could feel Georgia scowl at him.

"I don't want it anymore," she added. "I'm grateful I don't have it because of all the judgment that comes with it. I can live a normal life now. I know that muggles don't know what it means but wizards do and if you have it, it's like being branded. It says: I was once someone's property, like an animal. And I am not an animal."

Terrance laughed, looking eerily like a Cheshire cat only more vicious and with larger canines.

Draco only smirked harder at her jealous envy.

"Shut up! Both of you," Georgia yelled as she crossed her arms.

"Riley," Luna tried to calm the tension building in the room by continuing down the circle to the next person.

The last speaker was a young man, a couple years older than Draco. His name was Riley Crevice and he had given a group of muggle children ton-tongue-toffees on Halloween. The medical recovery the wizarding world had to provide for the children who received them was extensive and so he was sentenced to the program to ensure he would never try something like that again.

Blaise introduced himself and told the group that he and Draco had used magic in front of a muggle and almost hurt in the process. They didn't like muggles per say but they had never intended to hurt or scare anyone. It had been Officer Potter who had made the situation turn from amusing to dangerous. The group seemed to enjoy hearing that an officer was finally to blame for something, even if it wasn't true.

Draco simply told them who he was and looked to the person beside him to speak figuring Blaise's testament was sufficient for him as well.

"Since you didn't get to tell your story yourself why don't you tell us why you got that Dark Mark there?" suggested Georgia with a snide little smile on her lips.

"What a great idea!" agreed Luna, "Thank you Georgia!"

"Happy to help," smiled Georgia.

"Fine," pressed Draco as he glared at her. "I got the Dark Mark at my family's request. I fought alongside He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in the Battle of Hogwarts and-"

"Then why ain't you in Azkaban with the rest?" interrupted Terrance.

"Because of something my mother did. Anyway-"

"Oh okay. Mama's boy. She saved you from that but she couldn't keep you from this?" provoked Georgia.

"Actually, the Dark Lord entrusted me during the war to carry out some of his most sensitive missions," bragged Draco. "The fact that I was granted clemency was a happy accident that is none of your concern."

Leo was smiling as if he'd won something, "Keep being proud of your past boy and see how fast you end up in a cell alongside your friends. Georgia's right; you ain't gonna last long around here until you get your act together. A little more remorse; a lot less arrogance. That's what you need to get through this."

"Okay then, let's move eon to the next person," suggested Luna with a smile, sensing the tension re-growing between Draco and Georgia and Leo.

The person sitting beside Draco was named Pyros Xavier and he had gotten into a bar fight at muggle bar and used his wand on his opponent. The young girl next to him was name Catherine Sage and she had used illegal memory charms on muggle merchants in order to steal merchandise.

After introductions were made, Luna invited the veterans of the group to share some of their experiences within the muggle world. They talked about the difficulty they had learning the train and bus systems, the different jobs they were able to obtain, the ridiculousness of some muggle laws and even the things they missed about muggle life.

They were honest about the program, saying that some of the things they were expected to learn were unrealistic and stupid but some of the learning experiences had points to them. They didn't have to walk out of this experiences loving and advocating muggles. They had to just grow a respect for them. In order to that they had to let go of the hate and bigotry within their hearts. That was the requirement to graduate and sometimes that was easier said than done.

Living amongst muggles made them respect their way of life and sometimes brought out the hate in them. At the end of the day, they realized muggles were just like wizards; some were good people and others were scum. They couldn't be generalized. No one had to leave the program believing that marriage between muggles and wizards was right either, but realize that they shouldn't change the way they treated someone over it. Judge people on their character, wizard and muggle alike; that was the lesson to be lived and learned.

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A/N: First of all, for those of you who don't already know, I just finished a story this week. It's called Prohibited Behavior and it's the prequel to The Possibility. Check it out if you haven't already!

Secondly, Shout out to Kermit 304, .g-baby, and IridescentInTheDark for the consistent reviews. I look for your feedback every chapter along with 23Nelly, JaspersEmotionalGirl, and who I thanked back in chapter 2. You keep my muse functioning! Thank You!

Third, Remember to Review and let me know what you thought of this chapter because it gives me ideas for my upcoming chapter and it's a nice thing to do.

And Lastly, some good/bad news. If you followed along with Torn then you know that I recently completed a weightloss challenge and lost 59 pounds. My weight loss goal was to lose 100 pounds by my birthday and since I finished the last challenge the scale has already started to come up a bit. SO...I have signed up for another weight loss challenge. It's less demanding than the first but it will still take up sometime. So updates may slowdown but I'm going to do my best to stay on top of them. I have the next five chapters completed and I'm just tweaking them around so don't worry about me dropping out anytime soon. Just wanted to update you in case you notice my updates slow down in pace. Thanks!


	8. A New Beginning

_Sleep don't visit, so I choke on sun. The days blur into one, and the backs of my eyes hum with things I've never done…All my nightmares escaped my head. Bar the door, please don't let them…Welcome Home._

_-Radical Face_

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Harry Potter came to Draco and Blaise during dinner on their last night of classes.

"A little late to be visiting isn't Potter? Don't you have a wife?" asked Draco in annoyance.

"Don't worry about my wife Malfoy. I have your housing placements. Just in time too considering you'll be moving out tomorrow."

The truth was Harry had extra time on his hands at the moment. He'd just received notification that Ginny was placed on another mission within the department of mysteries. Harry didn't know if she'd be gone until tomorrow or until next month. So as usual, he decided to distract himself inside his work.

"Placement_s_? Won't we be staying together?" clarified Blaise.

Harry laughed, "No, no you won't be roommates again until the very end of your programs. Assuming you both finish. But if you want to be pen-pals throughout this experience, you will be allowed to transfer letters through Hermione and myself."

"But you'll be reading them?" pointed out Blaise.

"Of course," Harry handed them both a stack of papers and a packet full of information.

"Here are photos of your apartments, the city they're located in and at the back you'll find a list of jobs you are allowed to interview for. Remember, you have a month to obtain a job or you'll be sent back. If you have difficulty filling out the applications or you're nervous about the interview process just contact one of the listed counselors, officers, or Hermione and myself."

"And how do we reach you? I'm assuming we won't be allowed to use owls, will we?" asked Blaise.

"With these," Harry handed them two small, square shaped boxes with a pad of numbers on it.

Draco picked one up and turned it around in his hand. Looking confused he asked, "What is it?"

"It's called a cell phone. You dial the numbers on the pad here, press the green button and talk into it." Harry recalled Ron's brief use with a phone and added, "You don't need to scream into it though. Talk at a normal volume and the person on the other end will hear you just fine. You need to save these listen of numbers into your phone so that you recognize when one of us is calling you. If we leave a voicemail for you, or you miss our call, you have 24 hours to get back in contact before we send an officer out after you. Speaking of which," Harry rustled into his bag and pulled out his wand. "Give me your hands."

"Why?" asked Draco suspiciously.

"I need to place you both under a tracking spell, in case you try to flee."

They both held out their palms hesitantly. Harry said the incantation with the tip of his wand pressed into their palms. They felt a short, sharp, tingle plunge into their hand and up through their arm before the sensation fizzled away.

"There we go," Harry put his wand away. "There's a ton of information in those packets so I would take the time to read over them tonight." Harry took a moment to think over if there was anything else he needed to let them know, "Oh and leave any wizarding clothes you have with you here. You'll be given an outfit to leave in tomorrow and a set amount of cash to get you started for the first month. It's a generous amount to jumpstart you and you'll be able to acquire a new muggle wardrobe when you get to your new home. I'll be back here tomorrow afternoon to transfer you, Blaise; and Hermione will be here for you in the morning Draco so don't stay up too late. You have a big day tomorrow!" Harry said with a chuckle.

"Please, spare me the details." Draco picked up his packet and stood up. "Anything else Scarface?"

"Nope, have fun living as a muggle Draco. I'm sure you're going to love it." Harry Potter was all smiles. Draco would give anything to wipe the happy expression off of his face, even if it meant living as a muggle and completing Granger's stupid program because he knew Harry thought he was going to fail. There was no way he was going to give Potter the satisfaction of locking him up in Azkaban. No way.

/

"_What do you think the Dark Lord is going to do to you if you ask him to 'wait a moment' Draco? Do it now! I will not tolerate hesitation!"_

_Draco's hand was shaking, preventing him from accurately pointing his wand at the woman tied up in front of him. She was just some random muggle his father had acquired for him to practice on. He shouldn't care what happened to her. It didn't matter. _

_For years he'd been groomed to eventually get the mark and join his father in Voldemort's ranks. _

_Today was a hands-on lesson._

"_Draco…"Lucius warned. _

_Draco didn't need to turn around to know that Lucius was preparing to hex him. That's how it always worked. If Draco didn't cast, his father would and Draco would be the recipient. Last time Draco blacked out for three days. When he came-too his mother lovingly reminded him that he needed to act faster when instructed to do something._

_He wanted to believe that she said those things to protect him, knowing that the Dark Lord would not tolerate weakness. But in his heart he knew that she wanted him to make the Malfoy name proud and present a strong, capable son to the Dark Lord. Draco was intended to be a gift, a very well-trained and lethal gift._

_If he could only clear his mind and cast right. _

_Blind, shooting pain overcame him and he fell down to his knees. He could feel the sensation of a hundred tiny blades running down his skin. His flesh was throbbing and burning, his eyes bursting from the pressure. He would have screamed out if he could breathe, but his lungs were burning in pain._

_He could barely make out the sound of his father's voice through the haze. "Tomorrow, you do it right or it will be worse for you. Now get out of my sight."_

_Draco scrambled on his hands and knees to get back to his room. He couldn't go to his mother; she would be too angry and disappointed in him. She might even send him back to his father who would only take his frustration out further._

_As Draco pushed his bedroom door open with his elbow; still crawling on the ground, his fatigued muscles unable to hold his weight; he could hear the sounds of screaming fill the manor. The muggle was taking in the remaining punishment for Draco's failure. _

_Draco pulled his body fully into his bedroom and kicked the door close with his foot, blocking out the sound as best he could. He struggled to pull his body up onto the bed and crawled beneath the covers before falling back into the darkness._

/

The information packet was splayed across Draco's chest when he woke up in the morning. He didn't know when he had fallen asleep, somewhere between pages 34-35 evidently. He groaned and looked at the clock. It was seven in the morning. Granger would be arriving within the hour to pick him up. He pulled himself out of bed and got dressed in the assigned clothes set outside the door for him.

He felt groggy as he pulled his shirt over his head. Last night's sleep had been restless. As he became more awake the details of his dream quickly faded. But he remembered enough to know that his dream had been a recall of a past memory. Just typical reminisces of father-son time Draco had shared far too often throughout his upbringing; quality bonding.

Draco hadn't been in contact with either of his parents since he had been arrested. A feeling of dread overcame him when he thought of how they were going to handle the news of him being in a program that required him not only to fraternize with muggles, but to become like one himself. Logically, he realized that his father couldn't do much to hurt him any longer. But old habits die hard; a wave of nerves and dread ran up his spine. As upset as Draco was about being entered into this program, his father was going to furious in comparison.

It was only 7:30 when there came a knock at the door.

Of course Hermione would be early.

"One second Granger," Draco called out. He shook Blaise until he woke up.

"You leaving already mate?" asked Blaise as he squinted to look at him, still half asleep.

Draco sighed, "Yeah. I'll write you from time to time so you know I'm still in the program."

Blaise nodded, "I'll do the same." He extended his hand and Draco shook it. "Stay strong and remember who you really are, remember what's important to you and don't let Potter and Granger change you."

"I don't intend to. See you in a year Zabini."

"See you in a year Malfoy."

Draco opened the door and greeted Hermione with nothing but the clothes on his back. That was all that belonged to him now. The once wealthy and great Draco Malfoy had now been reduced to an improvised muggle left to the mercy of Hermione Granger. Never in a million years did Draco suspect his life could be reduced to this moment, and yet here he was.

"Did you read the information packet Harry gave you last night?" asked Hermione.

Draco showed her the packet in his hand, "I looked through most of it. I fell asleep before I could finish."

"Well, try to read it as quickly as you can. It'll be very useful to you. There are notes from your classes, contact information, emergency-"

"I scanned it," Draco forcibly repeated.

"Good," Hermione ignored that he'd just snapped at her and brushed it off as morning-crankiness, "and you have your cellphone?"

"My what? Oh yeah, this thing?" Draco pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"Yup, excellent. Let's go!"

Hermione transported Draco to his London apartment via taxi. When they arrived he saw that the photographs in his packet had done the place perfect justice. The building was brown bricked with white window panes, three stories tall and located next to an array of shops, restaurants and stores. There were cars parallel parked all along the street. Draco was grateful he wasn't required to learn how to drive and he had no desire to learn. He'd heard once that the Weasley's knew how to operate motor-vehicles and ever since then he'd viewed the idea as beneath him.

Hermione handed him his apartment keys and they walked up to his flat. The place was moderately small but appeared comfortable. The furniture was up to date and well placed. Everything he could need was provided for, hair brush, pajamas, tooth brush, tooth paste, a decent amount of food, everything to get him started. At least he wouldn't be living in total poverty. Things could be worse.

"Remember, you can contact me or Harry at any time if you need. "

Draco nodded but stayed silent.

Hermione paused and didn't leave right away. "Draco, you're going to be alright. Just keep an open mind and I know you're going to be fine."

Draco looked to her and saw that she was being sincere. She wasn't mocking him or telling him that she believed he was going to fail. She was the sole reason he was here in this cozy apartment instead of a jail cell. Despite his stubbornness and vast dislike of muggles and the prospect of having to now live among them, he couldn't help but feel…grateful.

"Thank you," he quietly said to her. He kept his eyes diverted as he said it.

Hermione had to double check her hearing. Did Malfoy just thank her?

"You're welcome," she quickly replied and looked away; not wanting to embarrass him for thanking her, "I'll be in touch."

Draco nodded and started to look around his new apartment while Hermione let herself out.

Almost everything was a shade of tan, brown, cream and white. They weren't necessarily his favorite colors but they felt warm and welcoming.

"Welcome home Draco," Draco said out loud to himself and continued to explore his surroundings.

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A:N/ Why, Oh Why must I go to math class? Woe is me! Pity me and leave me lots of reviews! Gosh, I hate math.

Anywho, Thank You! to everyone who reviewed last chapter-

TheWolfWhoWalksAlone- Thanks! I lost just one pound for the first week but I'm hoping next week will be better!

HermionenDraco368 – I'm glad you liked the chapter! Let me know what you think of this one.

river of the sand – You have a point,most Dramione's do have Narcissa/Lucius with the unmovable blood precious and Draco is the redeemed one. I'm glad you like this approach though.

23Nelly- Luna is an angel to have in awkward And I really want a wild-berry poptart. Does it make me sound old if I say I remember when they were first released? :/ Smore is my favorite flavor though. I could eat those cold all day long. Yum! And you do not need to lose a pound! Your profile pic is gorgeous!

skyla-lilly- Glad you loved it

.g-baby – It's a local competition. It doesn't cost much to join, but its basically a group of us weighing in each week to keep ourselves accountable. I'm substituting some of my meals with protein shakes and working out five days a week for a minimum of 1,000 calories burned. Hard work and good food always work, it's how I lost my first 59 pounds. Glad you like the story! I'm sorry you went and read The Boyfriend, it's terrible! I think I was 12 when I wrote it! lol

IridescentInTheDark – I love the relationship between Blaise/Draco. They compliment eachother so well. I'm glad you found it funny, I personally think my humor is just corny and gets lost most of the time! lol And of course, I hope the whole world sees the beauty in Dramione one day, especially Draco!

Tessa Cresswell- You'll have to read and see if he'll last ;) Thanks for the review! I'm glad you read The Possibility and Prohibited Behavior. Have you checked out Torn?

Fay – Thank You! I will!

Really like this so far, keep it up!

– You too! Glad you like it!

JaspersEmotionalGirl – I'm glad you're starting your own weight loss journey! Remember to never give up and to exercise, exercise, and exercise! Good luck! Keep me posted on your progress!


	9. Down For The Finish

_I don't wanna be here anymore. I wanna be somewhere else, normal and free, like I used to be. But I have to stay in this big white room with little old me._

_-Jesse J._

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The bed was incredibly soft and comfortable at the least. So comfortable that Draco spent most of his initial time sleeping in it. His initial reaction to this forced solitude was to take a mini-vacation, mentally shutting off his brain and doing absolutely nothing, lounged in bed all day. When he spent this time this way, his sentence wasn't so bad to endure.

Only, he was going to have to eventually get up and do something, get a job, and actually learn to live like a muggle.

The idea made him grimace.

It only took three days for Draco to finally leave his bedroom and do something productive with his time.

Draco reclined back on the couch and lazily pulled the cell phone out of his pocket. After fiddling with it for an hour, he was satisfied that he knew well-enough how it operated and even managed to save in it all the required contacts.

On day four he learned how to operate a television set.

To him, it was such an odd contraption and an odd idea.

'_People actually live their lives by watching other people pretend to be living their lives all day?'_

At first, it baffled him but after a speculative hour of channel surfing, Draco decided it was an acceptable means of entertainment and so he watched TV for the rest of that day.

On day five he decided to finally groom himself using the new muggle methods he had learned in his forced classes. They may have been torturous to endure, but at least they would pay off. He was starting to look like a spider-monkey and this was an unacceptable state for a Malfoy, even a Malfoy surrounded by an ocean of muggles outside his front door.

It took him a good thirty minutes to shave to an acceptable smoothness using the muggle razor. He missed his wand more than ever. There wasn't much he could do with the hair on his head, but he attempted to keep it smoothed down with the little product there was made available to him. Eventually he'd have to venture out of the house and learn more about muggle cosmetics.

As he grumbled at the prospect of having to shop amongst muggles, having to speak with them and touch their things was just unfathomable. Draco shuddered when he suddenly heard a loud series of tones and felt a vibration against his leg.

Startled, Draco quickly pulled the phone out of his pocket and realized it was 'ringing'. It felt more like it was screaming at him. He hurriedly tried to remember how to answer the call but the phone stopped ringing before he could remember how. Luckily, the caller called back a second time and Draco was able to correctly answer the call.

"Hello?" Draco answered rather loudly.

"You don't need to yell Draco. Speak at a normal volume," reminded Hermione from the other line.

"Sorry, I forgot," Draco lowered his volume.

"This is Hermione if you didn't already figure it out. Just calling to see how you're adjusting. Have you left the apartment yet?"

He already knew it had been her calling. He had labeled her number under the name 'MUDBLOOD'. He just hoped his phone wouldn't be checked over by her or the officers. Draco thought on it then made a mental note to re-save her name as something that wouldn't potentially get him into trouble. Maybe he would change it to 'Know-It-All' or 'Pain-In-The-Ass'

"Draco?" Hermione drew him back from his thoughts.

"Huh? What? What did you say?"

"I asked if you've left your apartment yet?" Hermione repeated herself with an air of impatience.

"Uh, no. Not yet."

"Okay, well you might want to think about leaving today or tomorrow. You have a little more than three weeks to find employment. You'll be responsible for your own living expenses after the first month," she reminded him. "Did you look over your sheet of expenses? It was in your information packet."

"Yeah, I saw it," suddenly Draco was filled with worry and anxiety. He had already wasted so much time. Draco had never had to worry about money before in his life. Everything always fell into place for him regardless of his actions. But now his freedom and the success of his life were fully dependent on him, alone.

"Alright. I want you to give me a call once you've arranged your first interview. Did you want me to suggest a starting point?"

"Sure…I guess so. I haven't really looked at the job options."

"All the jobs are entry level since you'll only be working for a year. I think that with your ambition and communication skills you may do well in the service industry."

"Service?" Draco interrupted her, "I'll have you know Granger, that Malfoy don't _serve_ people."

Draco heard a muffled laugh from the other end of the line.

Did she just chuckle at him? He was being completely serious!

"That may be so but, I don't think you'd do well in an office job. You're going to have to make some compromises and try new things. Focus on jobs where you can use your charms to your advantage okay?"

Draco couldn't help the amused smirk creeping on his face, "My _charms_ Granger?" He could practically hear her blushing on the other end of the phone.

"You know what I mean Malfoy. Just, remember to call me okay?"

"You got it," he agreed.

Hermione hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

Draco pulled out his packet again and looked over what Hermione had said. The jobs were organized by category. His eyes located the service category and started to read the job descriptions. Nothing on the list was particularly exciting there was no requirement that stated Draco needed to love his job, he just had to make it through and survive was he was forced to do.

He shuffled his hand through a drawer in the desk until he found what muggles called a pencil, or was it a pen?

'_What was the bloody difference?'_ Draco wondered in irritation as he pulled out a pen.

"Cheap imitation for a quill," muttered Draco disapprovingly as he clicked the end of it and started to circle the jobs he thought he might not force him to compromise _all_ of his standards.

There weren't many.

Half an hour later his stomach was grumbling. He'd managed to eat nothing but pop-tarts over the last four days and he didn't have any left. He scowled at the kitchen in front of him.

"I don't feel like a muggle, I feel like a house elf," he whined. Draco scanned through his information packet until he came across the section that presented instructions on how to use a stove.

Forty minutes later, Draco was eating the most poorly made bowl of macaroni and cheese he'd ever seen. At least it was edible…ish.

"Tomorrow," Draco spoke to his pathetic bowl of food, "I'm going to find a job tomorrow. One where they make food so that I don't have to do this to myself anymore. And I'm going to buy more pop tarts since they're the only thing I seem capable of making correctly." Thank Merlin they came in a million flavors, so he would be able to eat them for at least a month before he tired of them.

Or so he hoped.

/

Hermione made her way down the hallway of her department to ask Harry about Blaise's progress thus far. She passed by one of her officers on the way there who called her over.

"Hello Rachel, how are things?"

"Good, for the most part. Just about to leave and check up on Flint," she stated. Marcus Flint was one of three people assigned to Rachel's watch. He was a former student of Hogwarts; a Slytherin, who had asked to be placed in the program after spending a year in Azkaban for being caught with ten other Death Eaters attempting to regroup their forces after Voldemort fell.

"I just wanted to ask if the rumors were true."

"What rumors?"

"That Draco Malfoy has been placed into the program at your request? I was in Slytherin house when he was at Hogwarts you know? We weren't friends or anything but I was just wondering. He was always so arrogant. A bit fitting to think that he's been knocked down a few places."

"Well it's not much of a rumor because it's not a secret. But yes, Draco is under the program at my request. The judge in place at his hearing was hell-bent on taking his own personal frustrations out on him because of a previous incident involving his wife. I didn't think it fair that Draco or Blaise receive the retribution from that when they're perfectly suited for reformation."

"Yeah, I guess so. But just so you're aware there's a huge bet going on around the office because of it. Seems Malfoy has earned quite a few enemies around the Ministry. I guess it's mainly because of his father. He put a lot of families through hell when Umbridge was in power, y' know? Threw a lot of people under the bus, claiming that they weren't proper wizards and all. Not a lot of people are rooting for his son's success. They feel that having his son placed in Azkaban might be some kind of karma-tic justice for it all."

"That's terrible," Hermione scolded, "Draco is not responsible for what his father did during the war. They're two entirely different people!"

"Maybe so. But that's not how a lot of people feel about it. The bet's been really popular so far, 'cept everyone is betting how _long_ it will take for him to get booted out an' not on _if_ he's going to make it. Doesn't look like anyone think he will."

"Who told you about this bet?" asked Hermione, frowning. She wasn't very supportive of gambling in general but she was particularly against her staff betting on the success of her program, even if it was because of personal feelings towards the Malfoy family and not a disbelief in the program itself.

"Harry, he's the one who started it," explained Rachel to Hermione's surprise. "Well, I gotta go make sure Flint's not off being a twat somewhere. See you later tonight," and with a pop she apparated away.

Hermione turned her heel and stormed her way to Harry's office. She threw open the door without asking and found Ron sitting across from Harry's desk, laughing over a long piece of parchment that was sprawled out across the desk.

"Hermione!" Harry squeaked, surprised and caught off-guard at her sudden entrance. He frantically tried to roll up the parchment in front of him and hand it to Ron as if it had belonged to him

Hermione snatched the parchment roughly from Ron's hands but she didn't look at him. She and Ron were civil acquaintances these days, and not much more. What do you say to the person you almost spent your entire life with?

"I know what this is, Harry and I do not approve of it in the slightest," she unraveled it across the desk, and out of curiosity scanned over the names and the amounts betted on it.

"There has to be nearly 5,000 galleons betted here in total!" she observed in shock.

"Are you surprised? The Malfoys are one of the most hated wizarding families these days," said Ron.

"I'm not surprised that people hate the Malfoys. I'm surprised that you support the idea of this bet Harry. Which one of you started this?"

Hermione seemed completely bewildered that either of them would support this, in her own department of all places.

"I did Hermione," Harry confessed as he reached forward and grabbed the parchment from her. He claimed complete responsibility as he explained, "It started as a simple bet between just Ron and myself, and slowly people started to take interest. It's just a bit of fun. I promise we won't rub it in Malfoy's face too much when he comes home next month," then Harry began to snicker along with Ron.

"Next month?" Hermione didn't understand what was so funny.

"That's where Harry's bet is placed," Ron explained. "You see, if your time is right, you win the whole pot. I don't think he's going to make it a month though. I got him down for the middle of next week," stated Ron double checking the date where his name was written and a galleon amount placed beside it. "We're actually thinking of letting people place more than one bet but it's been so popular and there are only so many dates available when no one is willing to bet longer than three months." Ron laughed and Harry, to Hermione's disapproval, continued to join him.

"Harry, I am incredibly disappointed in you; both of you, for that matter. And to be frank, if you weren't like a brother to me I would have you officially reprimanded for this Harry!"

Hermione willed herself to take a deep breath and calm down a few notches, "But," Hermione steadily exhaled a large breath and changed her tone to something much sweeter than her previous sound, "I'm going to let this go; just this one time." She gave them both a look that showed she was serious about this being the one and only time this kind of thing would be allowed without repercussions.

"And if I find that you open a bet against our participants again I'm going to the head of Magical Enforcement about this. I mean it. So have your bit of fun this once and be done with it. I'll leave you responsible for informing the staff that betting will not be tolerated again in this department after this."

"Okay Hermione. I'm sorry if I made you mad with this, I wasn't trying to make you feel like your program doesn't work. I know that it does, I've seen it and I really do believe in what we do," Harry apologized as best he could before shrugging his shoulders in defeat, "But…it's Malfoy, y'know?"

"Even so Harry. I expect you to be more professional than this."

"Understood," Harry just nodded his head and accepted that Hermione was not okay with what he had done, although she was going to allow it to continue. If he pushed it or kept speaking, she may change her mind and _Incendio _the bet-parchment before his eyes.

Both Harry and Ron looked like two teenagers being scolded in that moment as they hung their heads in shame, their shoulders sinking down into a slouch.

Hermione felt a tad guilty and felt inclined to lighten the mood, "For the record, you can put me down at the very end. My bet is that he's going to make it all the way through to the end of the program." She reached in her pocket and fished out five galleons to add to the pot.

Harry and Ron looked stunned that Hermione was not only betting but genuinely believed Malfoy could succeed; both of their mouths hung open like gaping fish out of water.

"If that's your reaction now, then I have to say, I can't wait to see both of your faces when I walk away with the entire pot. I'll be saying 'I told you so' for years. You just remember that the next time you decide to bet against me." Hermione winked at them and left the room feeling quite pleased with herself.

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A/N: I have a math final Boo…then I start another math class. I think my life sucks more than Malfoy's right now. But he would probably beg to differ. Well, if he thinks that than he can just do my math homework for me!

Don't forget to review and let know what you thought! You know I love it when you do!

Also, since it's been like-what? One chapter since I've done this: Shameless plug time! Read and Review my other stories if you haven't already! They are: Torn, The Possibility, Prohibited Behavior, Flashes of Dramione, and More Flashes of Dramione.

Both 'Flashes' are a series of ficlets. I'm thinking of turning one of the fictets into a full FanFic so if you read them and any pop out to you, let me know if your review and I'll take a deeper look at it. Thanks!

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skyla-lilly- Thanks!

Divess – Thanks for leaving your input after each chapter! I absolutely love when readers do that. It helps me direct the story at times. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far and thanks for the advice. I absolutely LOVE green tea. I love tea in general. Mmmm tea…now I want some. Where's a house elf when you need one? Geesh.

HermionenDraco368 – Glad you're excited! Keep following to see what happens!

Yulandia – He's gonna need all the luck he can get! Oh yes, don't worry. Draco will go shopping. I have it all written out, I'm just tweaking a few ideas, editing, scheming up evil scenarios to throw Draco into and what not, y'know. lol.

23Nelly- I was never into blueberry, strawberry maybe. And yes, I think the world tilts a bit off balance every time something nice comes out of Draco's mouth. I'm sure it hurts him every time he has to do But that's what makes it cute! (Because I'm sure love Draco loves being referred to as )

justy13- Glad you think so! Ta!

river of the sand- Next chapter is here! Hope you liked it! I'm glad you like the approach I'm taking. I must say, I like it too ;)

Tamcor- You LOVE it? Aww, shucks.

IridescentInTheDark- Yeah, I made Ron the jackass in Torn. I figured it was Harry's turn to be jerk this time around. *Spoiler Alert!* But I'm not going to light him on fire or anything in this one. So he has it easy ;)

The Wolf Who Walks Alone- I prefer slow and steady Dramiones as well. Otherwise the whole fic feels like:

"I love you Draco"

"I love you Hermione"

"I love you more"

"No I love you more"

"No…I love _you_ more, silly ferret"

"No-uh, I love _you _ you silly-

Ahhhh! No! Enough! Bleh, Stop! I can't stand that over fluffy shit. Fluff is fun if it's not over done! (Hey now, that's a fun rhyme) And to answer your question, unintentional magic wouldn't count against them but since Draco is a fully-grown mature wizard he should be able to control those impulses. It seems like un-intentional magic is a program that occurs during puberty so he wont…shouldn't have any run ins with that. We'll see where my muse takes me.

missjennyg-baby-I'm glad I inspired you! The idea behind it isn't hard, but the exercise and work is. But once you get into the habit it gets easier, and you just have to remember to keep pushing yourself. Your priority should be to live healthy and if you get to a healthier weight doing it then kudos to you! Also, I'm sure Draco would prefer to work as a model but he will not be so lucky because I'm just not that


	10. Another Day, Another Dollar

_Bad times are comin' and I reap what I don't sow…I need a dollar, dollar, a dollar is what I need…Cause everything around me is falling down and all I want - is for someone - to help me…Please mister boss man I need this job more than you know._

_-Aloe Blacc_

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Hermione wondered if she should tell Draco about the bet that was being placed against him.

She thought about it for a few minutes and decided that it was best to keep it to herself.

Sure, knowing that Harry thought he was going to fail probably would motivate him to work harder but he already knew that Harry thought him to be a lost cause. Knowing that Hermione believed he could succeed and had put her money where her mouth was might not be so motivating though. Draco wouldn't want to participate in something that would prove Hermione right at his expense and she wasn't sure who Malfoy hated more; her or Harry.

There was a knock at her office door.

"Come in," called Hermione.

The door opened and Luna walked inside. "Hello Hermione," she greeted cheerily.

"Hello Luna. Have a seat, what can I do for you?" invited Hermione.

Luna set a stack of papers down on her desk. "I have Leo's program summary compiled and just need to have it approved before his release next week."

Hermione sighed, that was going to take her a couple days to go through. She was really hoping to check in on Draco, Blaise and a few others over the weekend.

"Can you bring it to Harry?" she asked. "He's not exactly on my good side at the moment and I think a bit of paperwork might do him some good."

"Yeah, sure. Is everything alright?" inquired Luna.

"Yes, I just found out about his little bet today."

"Oh yes," Luna knew exactly what she was talking about. "The one against Malfoy?"

"Yeah, that one. Why, are there others?" checked Hermione suspiciously.

"Oh, no. So far there's just been the one that I know about."

"Did you bet in it?"

"Who hasn't?" admitted Luna.

"What did you bet?"

"I'm not going to get in trouble for telling you, am I?"

"No, I'm going to let this one go as long as it doesn't happen again."

"Well, I was trying to be optimistic so I put myself down for three months since it was the longest length of time available at the time I bet. But Harry just informed me on the way over that you can place multiple bets all the way up to the end of the program now. So I bet that he would make it nearly the whole year."

"Why nearly?"

"Because I have a feeling he's going to do something to terribly mess up right before he makes it out," Luna honestly replied.

"How is that optimistic Luna?"

"I guess it isn't," she blankly admitted, "But you already bet that he would make it through to the end so that wasn't an option. I was just trying to be creative, I guess."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at Luna. She always had a way of intriguing her with her thought process. "Alright then. So, bring those to Harry…and I would say good luck with the bet but I already know I'm going to win."

Luna laughed, "I hope that you do."

Luna stood up and prepared to leave. As her hand gripped the door handle she paused and turned towards Hermione, "Do you know what I've always thought about Draco?"

"What's that?"

"That he's always been seriously misunderstood… just like me."

"I guess misunderstood is word you could use, although I have my own choice words for him," responded Hermione with a small smile. Luna returned the smile and walked out.

/

Draco was grateful he could just walk everywhere he needed to go in the busy city. He didn't feel very keen about learning how to use the bus system or flagging down a taxi to get where he needed to be. It only took a few blocks before he found the first place on his list that he wanted to apply for.

Draco looked around the busy restaurant and waited for someone to approach him. A young girl, around sixteen smiled at him and said, "Table for one sir?"

Draco saw that her mouth was filled with some odd kind of metal contraption. He tried not to grimace too obviously and forced a small smile. Whatever the device in her mouth was, it looked painful and he was grateful they didn't have barbaric contraptions like that in the wizarding world.

Draco couldn't help but stare at her mouth for another moment, almost pitying the muggle girl.

"Sir," the young girl wondered what he was looking at. Was there something stuck in her braces again?

Thinking back to the script in the information packet Draco recited, "Um…Hi, my name is Draco Malfoy and I'd like to inquire about obtaining a job at your establishment?"

"You want an application you mean?" asked the girl, looking at him like he was weird.

"Uh, y-yeah... I guess so," Draco figured with a shrug of his shoulders. He was uncomfortable, and he felt stupid and out of place talking to the muggle girl looking at him in such a manner. His mood was quickly turning from motivated to sour.

"One second," the girl went behind her podium and found a piece of paper and handed it to him. "If you want, you can fill it out here and then I can get a manager for you."

"No thanks, I'll just bring it by tomorrow," he snapped suddenly.

"Okay then…" the girl give him a hesitant smile and backed away from the seemingly crazy and moody man; but he didn't notice as he quickly turned around and walked out the door, anxious to get away.

"Good luck!" she called after him in her young, bright, and perky tone. It only served to make his mood worse. There was nothing to feel lucky about. He was being forced into muggle slavery at the hands of a self-righteous mudblood.

'_Whoever thought it was a smart idea to give a mudblood power is an idiot. What kind of moron thought any good could come from that? Now, here I am, wandering these destitute streets, searching for a job that is clearly beneath me,_' Draco thought dramatically as he walked a few blocks in frustration, scuffling his shoes against the sidewalk.

After a short while, he finally calmed down from his fit, and found a few other restaurants on his list he could apply for. He would remember to ask in the way the young girl had phrased it this time, "

"I'd like an application please," he repeated. It must have sounded more muggle because he didn't get any more weird stares and returned back to his flat with ten applications in hand to fill out.

He had almost forgotten to stop at the store and pick up another few boxes of pop tarts. Luckily, he was fairly comfortable handling muggle currency. At least in bill form, he still wasn't sure what each of the coins was worth and found it odd that they were worth far less than the paper money. Regardless, he managed to purchase one box of smore pop-tarts, and two blueberry.

Scanning over the application papers was a daunting process.

School…Should he put Hogwarts?

Former employment…None.

References…Inaccessible to muggles.

Draco groaned in frustration then remembered there was a spot in his packet that instructed him on how to fill out these applications. It gave the name of a fake muggle school, provided references and even gave a list of employers you could place that reflected your skill set. All the contact information led to various phones within the ministry of course and not to actual muggles.

What skills did Draco have that he could use on a muggle job application?

He was good at potions…so he wrote down cooking.

He considered himself to be fairly charming, even Granger had thought so apparently, so he wrote eloquent and friendly.

He was fast, especially in quidditch and so he wrote down fast and efficient.

After twisting out a few more skills, Draco felt satisfied that his applications were appropriately filled out and ready to go for the next day. He toasted a few pop-tarts and went to bed.

/

Thus far, Draco had been washing his one outfit and sauntering around his apartment in nothing more than his underwear and pajamas while they were being washed. He realized that if he were to actually get an interview for one of these jobs, it might help to look presentable. Or at least decent.

Draco felt overwhelmed in the men's boutique he found. Muggle clothing sizes made absolutely no sense to him. Everything he owned was personally tailored.

After browsing around for twenty minutes, looking confused and daft, one of the retailers finally approached him; a tall, slender young man, around his mid-twenties with wavy black hair and a thin line of eyeliner place delicately under his eyes.

"You look lost," he stated with a smile.

"That obvious?"

"Quite. Never shopped here before?" He asked in a kind voice.

"No, not here," Draco waited for the man to say something else but he was watching him attentively as if Draco was supposed to ask something. "Ah…I-I guess, I'm looking for something to wear to an interview."

"Ooooh you have an interview coming up? Exciting!" exclaimed the retailer with a clap of his hands. "What colors did you want to wear?"

"I don't really have a preference. Just want to look decent, really."

"Okay then, don't you worry a fret. I'll take good care of you," the man confidently stated. Then he winked at him.

Draco couldn't recall if he'd ever been winked at before, at least not by a man; and if he had, he'd never paid enough attention to the gesture to notice. But this wink had been unmistakable and caused Draco to shift a bit.

"What's your budget looking like sweetheart?" inquired the retailer.

'_Sweetheart?'_

"Ah…here." Draco pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to the retailer.

The retailer straightened out the bills and counted them quickly between his hands. "Oh this will do fine," he handed the money back to Draco. "Let me get your measurements, hun."

The man pulled out a measuring tape from his pocket and directed Draco on how to hold himself so that he could be measured. Draco couldn't help but notice how much longer it took him to measure between his legs, after enthusiastically instructing him to 'spread e'm'.

He shrugged it off though, this guy was going to help him get a job and that's what he needed to focus on. If he didn't work, he didn't eat, he wouldn't have a place to live, and he would be sent back to the Wizarding world and forced to face Azkaban and worse: Potter's arrogant, smug face laughing at him in victory.

Draco straightening his shoulders and took the measuring like a man. He didn't even flinch when the retailor 'accidently' brushed his palm across his bottom.

"Okay, wait here," instructed the retailer with another wink.

Draco took a seat on a bench and looked out the window at passersby's while the man acquired a few outfits for him to try on.

"Okay sweetheart, over here."

Draco followed him over to the dressing room. "Try these on and see what you think."

A few tight pants, loose shirts, and belt sizes later Draco came out of the dressing room in a crisp light blue oxford, navy slacks, black dress shoes, a black belt with silver buckle and a blue and silver tie.

"Lookin' sharp!" proclaimed the retailer, "They'd be crazy not to hire you!" He encouraged with a smile. "Do you like it?" He placed his hand on Draco's shoulder and directed him to spin around while he took in the sight of his fresh new outfit, mainly the part of his outfit that formed around his well-shaped ass.

Draco hated to admit that he felt good in the muggle attire that had been assembled for him. It made him feel clean, and confidant. He gave the retailer a suppressed shrug of approval and nodded his head in agreement.

"Don't be shy; it's okay to admit that you look good! And you _do_ look gooood!"

Draco accidently smiled.

"There you go! Perfection! Now, let's get you rung up, shall we?"

After changing back into the outfit he came in, Draco handed the man his pile of cash.

He honestly took the amount needed for the purchase and gave Draco back the remaining change.

"You really shouldn't trust people so much with your money," he pointed out as he placed the change into Draco's hand. "Not everyone is as honest as I am," he suggested, picking up that Draco wasn't quite in his place. "You're not from around here are you?"

"Not really," it was a very odd thing to be so close to home and yet so very far away.

"My name is Charles but my friends all call me Charlie," the retailer extended his hand. Draco was hesitant for a moment but managed to reach out and shake Charlie's hand. It was hard not to notice that they were unbelievable smooth, as if he applied lotion to them religiously. He tried to focus on that, instead of the idea of him actually shaking hands with a muggle.

"I'm going to give you my number. If at any time you want a tour of the city, just give me a call." Charlie printed an extra receipt and wrote his name and number on the back of it, "Hope I hear from you soon."

Another wink.

Draco was pretty sure he'd just been hit on by a man when he left the store that day. But it didn't feel odd; it felt slightly pleasing to know that he was just as attractive to men as he was to women.

'_I'm just all kinds of sexy today, I guess.'_ Draco joked with himself as he walked down the street on his way to drop off his applications.

One of the diners actually asked him if he had time for an impromptu interview.

"Sure, I guess so," replied Draco. What else was he going to do? Go home and eat another bloody pop tart? Draco had discovered that a week of pop tarts was basically the limit for any human being to tolerate.

A short, wide and greasy man, with a scraggily brown mustache, and receding hair line came up to Draco and shook his hand.

"Hello, young man!" he enthusiastically greeted Draco, throwing up his hands as he spoke. He had a strong accent but Draco couldn't place where it was from. "I am called Mr. Everson," the fat man proclaimed. "I work as the manager here at diner. How you say your name son? Drah-coo?"

It didn't matter to Draco that this man was clearly foreign and English was obviously not his first language, his name wasn't that weird or difficult to pronounce. This muggle was clearly a moron.

"It's pronounced Dray-co. Draco," he corrected. Not hard.

"Drak-oo, got it."

'_Still Wrong'_ Was this man a total idiot?

"Follow me over to booth here and let us see if we can find place for you," said Mr. Everson with what he must of thought was a welcoming smile. But Draco could see he was missing one…two…three…four teeth.

Most wizards didn't struggle with things like dental care. Evidently, you could fix nearly anything with magic. These muggles were forced to live with their shortcomings or go to great lengths to conceal them.

Draco suddenly felt very self-conscious about his own hair as he looked at the lack thereof on the man before him. This gel stuff just wasn't the same. It made his hair feel dry and crunchy. Maybe that Charlie guy could suggest something different he could use?

"So it says here you have previous job experience working at soup kitchen? Nice to know you are into the charity and all of this. How long you volunteering there?"

Draco had to think about what he wrote, "Um…for a few years," he guessed.

Charity had never been something his parents had ever made him participate in. He hadn't honestly volunteered for a charity a day in his life. But if saying that he did gave him an edge then sure, he'd worked at a soup kitchen; whatever that was.

"You ever were a waiter before, son?"

Why was he calling him son? He was in no way related to his man, nor did he look it. If he ever grew to look related to this man he was sure he'd never leave his house again.

'_Must be a weird muggle thing'_, he figured. Was he supposed to call him a father in return? Was he being disrespectful by not saying it back?

"Nope Dad, I haven't been," Draco answered with a shake of his head. There was no way he was going to call the stumpy man Father. Only one man in Draco's life was addressed by that title and it would remain that way. Even if it meant the was unable to be hired by this guy.

Apparently, that had been the wrong answer to give.

Mr. Everson was looking at him like he'd something smart-assed or crazy. Draco was confused. English was his first language wasn't it? He knew how to speak without making him-self look like a fool, didn't he? Then why was he being stared at like this?

'_Recover, quick'_, "Uh, but I've always wanted to try. I think I'd be good at it," he lied, keeping the topic on his interview and not on the embarrassing mistake he had just made.

"You know how to walk with tray?"

"Yup," Draco lied.

"You're okay with our tip out system? It is at ten percent. No less."

"How much do you make per hour here?"

"Not much by hour. What you make is whatever you earn in tipping. Then ten percent gets split between busser, bartender and then the host as well."

So basically, if he wasn't good at this job he would be screwed?

But he needed the work. "Yeah that's fine," Draco begrudgingly agreed to the terms.

"Well Draco, you look like pretty nice kid. A little weird, but nice I guess. I have few more questions I usually ask but I get good vibe about you. I am going to talk to my assistant manager and I will give you call in a couple days if we want you. Yes?"

That was it? It was done?

"Okay, I hope to hear from you soon."

"Yes, I hope so too," Mr. Everson gave him another handshake and headed back to his office.

Draco walked himself out of the diner and headed back to his flat for a shower.

Something about Mr. Everson made him feel like he needed one.

.

.

.

.

.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Big thank you to everyone who reviewed! Keep reviewing because it makes me happy! A lil' update on my life for those of you who care: I'm being really lazy about my weight loss competition and missed a way in so I don't know how much I'm down if at all. I'll have get back to you on that.

On a positive note, I've been really busy with my music life! I have three different music competitions going on right now. For the first one I made it to the 3rd and final round and that takes place in a week. I'm really nervous about it! I'll be singing Proud Mary, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, and One Moment In Time. For the second competition, I made it past the first round. There are two more rounds that take place at music festival and that's in a month. And the last competition, I got first place in the first round. The second takes place at a different music festival and it will be the first festival I've ever performed at so I'm really excited!

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Kestralspace- Draco as a muggle criminal master mind? I admit, he would look sexy in a white and black gangsta suit, ordering people around, counting all his dirty money… But yeah, not in this story! Lol He'll probably do something lowly and degrading like I do for a living. Lol Gosh, that makes me sound like I work a dirty job. Which I don't! Haha!

Gaara's Plaything- Even though you never intended to read this, I'm very glad you did! Thanks for reviewing as well! Your sister has great taste in Fanfiction, I must say. But maybe I'm a little bias? Lol

river of the sand – Yeah, Draco needs to make friends with a chef or figure out how to use his microwave. Silly little wizard eating pop tarts all day. Glad you love it!

Missjennygbaby- It is VERY hard to change your eating habits. I understand that one. You have to find ways to make it convenient or it's hard to commit. Keep trying! I think that Draco's favorite pop tart has to be blueberry because apparently it's my readers' favorite flavor. I personally hate blue berry. I LOVE the smore ones. I'll eat them cold even. Now, when you say football do you mean American football or soccer? Because I think Draco would get pulverized in American football. Hehe. It would be interesting gif Draco met a muggle who knew Hermione and could tell him all her embarrassing childhood stories. Nice idea, thanks for sharing it.

IridescentInTheDark- Yes, I love her feistiness! We'll have to see if she wins the bet! (As if I don't already know ;))

Sapphire1031- Thank you! I'm glad you love the story and my other stories! That's very sweet of you. Also, I know what you mean. I don't like it when people act like Draco doesn't have a brain. I always have viewed him as being incredibly intelligent. I'd like to see just any teenage wizard fix a vanishing cabinet. Psh, they couldn't; but Draco could because he's incredibly smart. He's just a brat about it. :p I was going to make Hermione's reaction a little bigger and call it off but then my muse told me to keep it going because it might make things fun a little later. You'll have to read and see ;)

The Wolf Who Walks Alone – Intense fluff is like eating crunch cotton candy. Ewww… Yeah, every time I see a pop tart I think of Draco Malfoy now Way to go me! I still need to see Dark Shadows! I've seen Hunger Games four times now and I need to stop it. Lol Thank you for thinking I stay true to the characters. I try my best to but sometimes I do manipulate them to my will. As is my power as an authoress. Mwuahaha! I don't Hermione or Draco would be on them getting together. But that's not their choice now is it? Haha! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far and I'm trying to keep on top of my updates. It helps that I'm really into this story. So far, it's been fun to right and I think that using the song lyrics to inspire chapters keeps me motivated and on track. I might just make that my new signature with future fanfics. We'll have to see. Happy Reading!

Jessica Lauren Brettin- Thank you, my dear!

Divess – Oh yes, we all love Draco's 'charm'. Teehee! Thank you for enjoying my humor. It's nice to know that I'm not the only person in the world who thinks I can be funny sometimes ;)

tezukakuduo – I haven't decided if Draco is going to find out about the bet yet. Still on the fence with that. We'll have to see what my muse says

skyla-lilly – I thank you!

ladida – I was going to have them figure out how to use more muggle contraptions than I did but when I went to my friends for ideas and feedback our minds kept going to dirty places so I just had to stop and make them learn how to use washer/dryers and Thanks for reviewing!

magic-never-dies- I'm glad you like the pace. I'm trying not to go to fast. I'm having fun writing this story so I want to keep it going for a good length. Thanks for the feedback

HermionenDraco368 – There is a lot I can do here, I keep revising my plot line. Luckily I keep adding ideas and haven't scratched away too many. Thanks for the review!

getzdragon– I love updating!


	11. A Fresh New Start

_You don't know me, you don't even care. You don't know me, and you don't wear my chains…I think I'll start a new life. I think I'll start it over, where no one knows my name._

_-Augustana_

.

The short, fat, toothless man never called Draco back concerning his job interview. It didn't put him off to much; he didn't really want to work for the creepy man if he had a choice. But he was still unemployed and the end of the month was approaching faster and faster. To top it all off, he had received a call that morning notifying him that an officer was going to be stopping by to report on his progress.

It didn't take long for Draco to make his apartment presentable. He had few belongings and, aside from trying to get a job, he hadn't done much more than eat pop tarts and watch TV.

Edith Newton showed up at his doorstep at noon that day. Edith had bright pink hair that barely touched her eyes; she was very short, even for a girl, and approached everyone she met with suspicion. Edith spoke with authority, and hostility; as if she was constantly awaiting confrontation.

Draco answered the door and welcomed her in.

"Draco Malfoy, I'm Edith Newton. Hermione was going to come and check in on you, seeing as she's responsible for your case but she got caught up with something at the Ministry. Don't bother asking what because it's not any of your business."

Draco wasn't going to ask because he frankly didn't care what the mudblood was up to.

Edith started to walk around his apartment as she snooped through a few of his things.

"You read that you're not allowed to have any kind of weapon?"

"Yes, there aren't any weapons here. Hardly any food either," he made an ill attempt to joke around. Edith didn't catch his humor, which wasn't at all surprising.

"Have you been doing _anything_ this week? I read your file before I came. You're used to having everything handed to you on a silver platter. That's not going to happen here. You need something; you're going to have to do it yourself."

"I had a job interview but they never called me back."

"Why? What happened? " pried Edith, her eyebrow raised in accusation.

Draco wanted to say that the fat muggle ho interviewed him was a moron and he was relieved that he wouldn't be working for him, but he didn't think that would look good on his report, "No idea. Lack of job experience, maybe?" Draco gave an innocent shrug and did his best to look disappointed.

"You put down job references didn't you?" Edith asked him as if he were stupid.

Draco bit his tongue to keep from saying something smart that might get him into trouble. "Yes, I followed the instructions. I know how to read."

"Don't sass me ferret. I report straight to Hermione after coming here and she takes my opinion very highly," warned Edith with a menacing glare.

"I'm sure she does," retorted Draco sarcastically.

"Have you had any _other_ interactions with the muggles?" asked Edith, implying in her tone that he had already broken the rules and possibly harmed someone.

"Just a few store clerks," responded Draco. He couldn't help but think about the clothing retailer, Charlie.

"Any problems? Must have been real difficult for you to interact with them wasn't it? Knowing you couldn't do anything to hurt 'em?"

Truth be told, the only muggle he'd encountered so far that he even relatively despised had been Mr. Everson. Draco shrugged and simply stated, "I didn't have any problems."

"Right…" Edith looked him like she didn't believe a word he'd said. "Well, you appear to be doing okay. Just work on getting another interview and don't mess it up this time."

"Duly noted," Draco dryly responded.

Edith nodded and let herself out.

As if on cue, Draco's cellphone rang. He was getting the hang of this; he pressed down the green button and answered, "Hello?"

"Is this…Draco…Draco Malfoy?" asked a man on the other end.

"Speaking."

"Hi Draco, My name is Paul Hertz. I'm the manager at the Shell Shack. You applied here a couple days ago. Were you still interested in coming in for an interview?"

Draco couldn't believe his luck. The man on the other end actually sounded competent and from his enunciation, he probably had all of his teeth as well. "Yes, I am still interested."

"Excellent. I have some time this afternoon if you're available to come in and speak with me?"

"Works for me. What time?"

"Let's make it three. Does that work for you?"

"I'll see you at three."

"Great."

/

Hermione read over Edith's report.

He still hadn't found a job? With everything they provided for him it shouldn't be that hard.

Hermione sighed in frustration as she finished reading Edith's review on Draco's progress. Edith didn't hesitate to include that she thought Draco was a smart-ass. But that wasn't news to anyone.

"I'm not going to let you fail this Draco." Hermione was feeling a little sore against Harry, and the idea that Ron was on the bandwagon of this bet only made her want to win it more. "I don't usually do this Draco, but I'm going to make sure you don't fail."

Hermione cleaned up her office and peeked into Harry's doorway on her way out. "I'm gonna call it a night Harry. I'll see you in the morning."

"G'night Hermione," Harry responded without looking up from his desk.

"By the way Harry. How are the bets going?"

"Everyone but you and Luna, Hermione," said Harry knowing that she wanted to see if everyone still thought Draco was going to fail. Which, they did.

Hermione felt even more determined and justified about getting more involved in Draco's case at hearing this, "K, thanks."

Hermione gave Harry and small smile and let herself out.

She was supposed to check in on Draco that morning but had gotten overwhelmed in paperwork and didn't have the enthusiasm to deal with his snide remarks so she sent Edith in her place. Edith didn't take crap from anyone and Hermione felt confidant she would be able to handle Draco's personality with ease.

But Hermione was a very competitive witch. Now that she had committed to this bet, she was going to make sure she won it. Draco wasn't going to fail out of her program even if he wanted to.

Hermione made up her mind and decided she was going to surprise Draco with a second check-in that day.

/

Hermione was about to knock on Draco's door when she saw the door handle turn. She quickly backed away from the door and cast a quick disillusionment charm so that whoever was coming out of his place wouldn't see her.

To her surprise, Draco Malfoy walked out of his apartment dressed to the nines.

He had cleaned up nicely in the outfit Charlie had helped him picked out, looking sharp, minus a little frizz in his hair.

Hermione was shocked.

Draco looked _good_ in muggle clothes.

Where was he going looking that good? Curiosity got the best of her and she began to follow him. She decided to recast the disillusionment charm so that it was stronger and held for a longer period of time. This wouldn't be the first time she followed a client under the radar and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

She noticed the he passed by a number of available taxis. She realized that wherever he was going, he was walking the full way there. She respected that; she'd seen far too many wizards waste away their initial funds on taxi's and drinking. Then again, Draco had always been in decent shape from playing quidditch all those years so walking had never bothered him.

It was a decent twenty minute walk before Draco arrived at his destination.

The Shell Shack was apparently a Caribbean themed restaurant, with flame torches, fake palm trees, reggae music, tropical drinks and plenty of seafood. Hermione wondered if he was meeting a girl for date, dressed like that. Then she remembered who she was thinking of; Malfoy would never date a muggle woman.

True, he and Blaise had claimed they were trying to impress Tiffany when they levitated her off of a roof but Hermione didn't honestly buy that. Besides, if Malfoy was going to use a muggle just for sex he surely wouldn't be buying her dinner first.

So what was he doing here?

From where she stood, Hermione couldn't make out what Draco was saying to the host but after a quick minute of waiting, a tall gentleman who appeared to be the manager came up and greeted Draco.

Then it hit her; he was here for a job interview!

Hermione felt excited and pleased with herself. Draco was going to succeed and she was going to win the bet against Harry! She had nothing to worry about!

Full of glee, Hermione giddily followed behind Draco to the corner booth where they were holding their interview. She sat at the booth directly behind Draco and turned to watch them, hoping the host wouldn't try to seat someone on top of her.

Her confidence in Draco and his chances of success quickly dwindled when she realized he had no idea what he was talking about when asked about his job references. The manager was looking for someone with experience and Draco was coming across cocky and arrogant when trying to spin his wizarding skills as muggle ones.

Hermione quietly slapped her hand against her forehead and realized she was going to have to intervene. She quietly pulled out her wand and cast a quick charm on the manager, Paul.

Paul sat up so abruptly when the charm settled in on him that it startled Draco.

'_That was odd,'_ thought Draco but he quickly brushed it off and continued to talk about his time working in a soup kitchen. He clearly did not understand what a soup kitchen was or its purpose so Hermione had cast a charm on Paul that made him think everything Draco said was pure genius.

It was slightly unmoral to manipulate him this way but she would remove the charm once Draco was hired. He'd have to keep his job on his own but she would give him a hand in acquiring it.

"So far Draco, I love what I'm hearing," said Paul at the end of the interview. "You have a great personality, some great work references and you look very professional. If you're up to it I could have you start as soon as next week. How's that sound?"

"That-that sounds great!" Draco practically jumped out of his seat. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He got the job? He eagerly shook Paul's hand. "Thank you."

"No problem, I look forward to working with you."

Hermione quickly scooted out of the booth and out of the restaurant before Draco got up. She wanted to make it back to his flat first and surprise him.

/

Draco would have run home if he wouldn't look like an idiot doing it.

He flung open his apartment door and was about to let out a big 'Yes!' when he caught his own tongue.

"What are you doing here Granger?" he sneered. It wasn't a very convincing sneer; he was still smiling over his recent success.

"Just dropping by to check up on you," she said simply.

"Can you do that?" Draco shut the door behind him and walked inside. "Just waltz into my house?"

"It's my department Draco. I can do whatever I want. Anyway, it's not like you woke up in the middle of the night to find me watching over you, so relax," she laughed but Draco obviously didn't find it the least bit funny.

"Edith said you were having a hard time getting a job. I thought I'd see if I could help you out in anyway."

"I don't need any help," said Draco stubbornly.

"Are you sure?" Hermione was itching to smile but refrained from it.

"Yes I'm sure. I'll have you know I just came from an interview…and I got the job," he said a-matter-of-factly as he bragged about his independence.

"Did you? Congrats!" Hermione pretended to act surprised.

"I expected it," he said with a light sigh. "These muggle jobs aren't very hard, after all. Mostly hard labor and you don't exactly need brains to figure out how to do them."

"Whatever you say Draco, whatever you say. How are you finding the city? Have you been able to find your way around alright?"

Draco just nodded his head in affirmation.

"Try not to be too upset that you're here. Think of it as a fresh new start. No one here knows you. You don't need to keep up the façade you've held up for years. You can be someone entirely new if you want to be," she suggested.

"And why would I want to be any different than how I am?"

Hermione shrugged, "It was just food for thought."

"Food for what?" Draco looked at her like she was nuts.

"It means it was just an idea," Hermione rephrased. "You'll catch onto those muggle phrases soon enough."

"Hardly," he disagreed with a roll of his eyes.

They were both standing, awkwardly looking at each other in a moment of silence.

Hermione broke the sudden silence, "You look nice by the way."

"I guess. For a muggle," Draco shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Bet you never thought you'd refer to yourself as one," pointed out Hermione with a giggle.

"I meant for muggle clothing. I would never refer to myself as muggle," he sneered with distaste.

Hermione changed the topic, "So what are you going to be doing at your new job?"

"I'm going to be a waiter," answered Draco. He didn't look very enthusiastic about it when he said it out loud but Hermione knew he was happy to be employed.

"See? I told you that service would be good for you. You have a unique personality, and it will help you in that job."

"Guess I'll find out. So, what happens if I don't keep this job? I fail the program or something?"

"No, you just have to find another one. You only fail out of the program if you can't take care of yourself. You know, Draco, I really do want you to do well."

"Why do you care?" Draco asked, "I've always hated you."

"And I've never been particularly fond of you either, Draco. But I really do believe in what I do and the idea that people can change."

"Only if they want to change and I don't believe I need to."

"Well, most people volunteer for my program-"

"So then, why did you intervene with me and Blaise? Why didn't you leave us to our fate? I have no regrets about what we did and I would have accepted the consequences."

"It was the right thing to do for one," Hermione chewed on her bottom lip and then decided to let a bit of the truth out,"…and I guess on a personal level I would take a certain degree of satisfaction knowing I transformed my arch-nemesis into a better person. Especially with the Ministry taking note of how effective my department really is."

Draco smirked, "I'm your arch-nemesis now, am I?"

"Well someone has to fill the role now that You-Know-Who is gone," said Hermione with a smile.

"Let me ask you a question. Do you think we were going to kill that girl?"

"Honestly Malfoy. I don't care. I don't care about everything you've done in the past either. All I care about is you doing well right now in this moment and leaving this program realizing that the beliefs you and your family had towards muggles were unfounded and ridiculous."

"It takes time to un-program a lifetime's worth of upbringing and ideals."

"Well, you have plenty of time to try; nearly a year, in fact."

"Don't remind me."

"Well Malfoy, I'll let you have your space. I'm glad to see that you're doing well and I'll be by soon to check on you again. You have my number in my phone should you need anything."

"Ok Granger, Goodnight," Draco headed into his bedroom and shut the door before she let herself out of his apartment.

"Bye Malfoy," Hermione ended up saying to the door. She excused herself and apparated home feeling a step ahead of Harry and Ron's promise of Draco's destined failure.

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A/N: 100 reviews! Thank you so much! It really does mean a lot to me. Just want to let you all know that I updated my community. It is now an archive for my favorite Dramione here on FF. So if you're looking for some good recommendations, check it out. There is a link to it under my profile.

Also, I have a big singing competition coming up this Saturday and would really appreciate your good wishes and thoughts! I'm incredibly nervous but also excited! I'll be singing Proud Mary, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, and One Moment In Time!

Thank you again!

.

Rielle82- Draco, "Of course it's a great story. I'm in it after all, aren't I? Although, I'm not entirely happy that you enjoy reading about my torture in Granger's mundane program; I think it's a terrible 'twist'. And for the record, I resent being called a git, especially by some muggle."

IridescentInTheDark- Draco, "A day in my life is usually one to be envied. Can't wait until this year is over and I can get back to my wonderful, muggle-free life."

river of the sand – Draco, " You have a very odd definition of fun…I do agree that I tend to attract the 'crazies'. But that's because of where I'm located. You can't expect good company when no one around you is at the very least a half-blood, now can you? I'm about to become a littler crazier if I have to eat one more bloody pop tart. What I wouldn't give for a nice pumpkin pastie and a cold butterbeer right now. Sounds much better than a dramione…whatever that is."

LadyNorth76 – Draco, "I'll update whenever I want. You're welcome."

Divess – Draco, "You liked Charles? I think Charles liked me, although I don't know how I feel about that exactly… And I' not bigoted, I just have standards. There is a difference. Bigots don't always know or understand why they despise someone. My ideals are completely justified and necessary. And I'm sure I would be successful without the help of a muggle, even one as fashion-savvy as Charles. I am a Malfoy after all, and Malfoy's don't fail. You should know that, seeing as I'm one of your favorite people. What did you call me? Strong, intelligent, and handsome? Someone who will survive even if it is just to spite people? You know me so well…"

HermionenDraco368- Draco, "You and me both. I hope this job is easy. I know it won't be intellectually taxing, seeing as muggles have a limited thought capacity."

Tessa Cresswell – Draco, "I'm sure this chapter was amusing to someone who didn't have to live through it. I guess I'm glad I amused you."

Nano33 – Draco, "Icky doesn't begin to describe it. Imagine being stuck in a room with a half-breed and mudblood. Yeah, it was worse than that. Can you imagine? It makes me shudder just to think of it. I don't think I can get a job that could be labeled as classy if it involves muggles but I'll do my best to find somewhere tolerable to spend my year. This whole situation is humiliating, really."

Jessica Lauren Brettin – Draco, "Yes! Poor me! Finally, someone understands!"

HermionenDraco368 – Draco, "I want to know how the whole job thing goes as well. The Shell Shack is leagues better than the last place I interviewed for but I'll still have to wait on muggles. I can assure you my grandfather is rolling in his grave. Can you blame him? A Malfoy having to wait on muggles? Getting the dark mark was easier than having to go through this."

missjennyg-baby- Draco, "I look good in nearly everything thing I do. It's a product of having good, pure-blood genes. It really does make a difference. Everyone keeps bringing up how Charles hit on me! I'm just glad no one in the wizarding world saw it happen; they would never let me live it down. But I do agree, getting hit on by another wizard or, I hate to say it, male muggle is slightly flattering. Although, I'm not exactly surprised that my looks are irresistible to all kinds of people. Again, it's the blood and genetics I have to thank for that."

stlchulita – Draco, "Proper wizards don't speak like that, and for a reason! We say what we mean. Why on earth would you refer to a complete stranger as being your offspring? It makes no sense! I resent that I called him dad, but it's already done with. I know better for next time. I hate how these muggles communicate with one another. Just another example to show how beneath us they really are."

Yulandia,- Draco, "Yes, poor me. This program is clearly cruel and unusual. I can't imagine myself serving a muggle in any kind of way. But this program is forcing me to day many things I said I would never do, isn't it? And I'm not going to think muggles are complete idiots, I already know that they are. Could you imagine me working with Charles? He'd never get any work done. My presence would only serve to distract him. There are some people in this world who just can't tolerate how beautiful I am, and who can blame them? Again, it's good breeding."


	12. First Sight

_There are people in this lifetime that we should never meet…'cause the only one I come undone for is you. Oh, the only one I come undone for is you._

_-Vanessa Carlton_

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Turns out, serving was hard work. Draco had broken three plates, two glasses and fallen once; all on his first day. He lied and said that he'd accidently purchased the wrong shoes and that reasoning had accounted for his lack of balance.

He found it immensely embarrassing to break something that couldn't be fixed with a simple _reparo_ charm. Each mistake took on more weight than Draco had ever been used to.

He went home so frustrated that night that he burned his pop tart.

"Bloody thing must be broken," Draco cursed as he maneuvered the hot pasty from its fiery furnace, refusing to admit that he'd made yet another mistake that day.

Draco was sure he was going to be fired the second he came through the doors at work the next day.

Instead, he found that everyone went about their business and barely noticed he had arrived.

Paul approached him with a welcoming smile and boasted, "Draco! Great to see you back! You have the right shoes on today I hope? Non-slip right?"

"Yeah, sorry about yesterday," Draco couldn't believe he was apologizing to a muggle. A mere week ago you would have had to cut the words out of his tongue.

"It's alright. We all have our days. Let's just forget yesterday and start fresh? We just had a new server transfer in today. Supposedly, she has some training experience so I'm going to let her take you under her wing and see how you both do. How's that sound?"

"Sounds good to me," complied Draco.

What else was he going to do? Disagree with the only man willing to give him a job?

"Great. Megan is back in the kitchen right now. Follow me."

Draco followed Paul back to the kitchen-alley where everyone was busy prepping food, running plates, stocking and more.

Draco wondered if this was what the house elves looked like when they worked. He'd always envisioned a happier, no-stress scene but in reality he saw that this was hard work. Then again, house elves could use magic and muggles couldn't; which only further supported his idea that muggles were beneath any kind of magical being or creature.

Draco's thoughts came to a sudden halt when Paul introduced him to Megan.

Paul was saying something to him but he didn't hear a word of it as he gazed in amazement.

Sure, Draco had heard people talk about love at first sight before but he had always taken it to be codswallop. But there was no other explanation he could think of to describe what he was feeling in that very moment.

He was frozen in awe of her.

She had deep brunette hair, light brown eyes, a well assembled frame, beautiful cheek bones and the most kissable lips that he'd ever seen.

Draco didn't even have time to process that he was feeling this way towards a muggle. His brain wasn't functioning normally, it was floating in a haze and for a moment it didn't matter that he was gawking at a muggle because he didn't care.

This woman before him was surely a goddess.

She had to be. What other creation could captivate him like this?

"Ah…Is he okay?" Megan asked Paul. Draco was just staring at her, completely transfixed.

"Draco?" Paul gave him a sharp nudge and he suddenly came back to focus.

"Sorry, I-I just had a brain glitch or something," he stuttered, embarrassed. Draco shook it off as a light pink hue started to caress his face. He quickly extended his hand to the new girl before him, who had knocked him into a stupor with merely her presence, "I'm Draco."

With the touch of their hands he immediately felt bolts of electricity shoot through his arm and tingle through the rest of his body. What was happening to him? This surely had to be the effect of some kind of magic? It had to be. Draco had never fawned over a girl like this before, and he only known this woman a total of ten seconds.

"Megan is going to take good care of you and whip you into shape, Draco. Have fun!" Paul said as he slapped Draco on the back, leaving the two of them alone amongst the chaos in the kitchen.

"So…Draco," Megan spoke to him sensitively as if he had some kind of condition. He probably had looked like it after his little episode.

This was incredibly awkward for Draco, and for once he didn't know how to behave or present himself. He tried his best to show Megan that he was genuinely listening to her and not just gawking at her beauty, and mesmerizing every crevice of her perfectly matched face…

"Paul brought me up to speed on what you went through yesterday. I'm just going to have you follow me today so you can see how I do my job and ask questions as we go along. Does that work for you?"

"Absolutely," he was going to get a full day's pay to just observe this gorgeous woman? How could things get any better than that?

The day should have gone a lot slower but before he knew it, his shift was over. Five hours had passed by in what seemed like minutes.

He'd gotten lost in time watching her.

He realized how foolish the idea was but already he seemed to love everything about her; her smile, the way she walked, the sound of her voice when she spoke and especially the way she said his name…

Draco felt like a love sick fool. Someone had to of slipped him a love potion to make him feel this way! A Malfoy had never fawned over muggle woman before.

Never.

'_Do muggles even have anything that works like a love potion?' _he wondered.

"I'm only here part time," Megan explained, pulling Draco back out of his thoughts. "So, I won't always be here, but you can ask anyone on staff if you have questions. They're here to help you."

"Will you be here tomorrow?" Draco hoped.

She laughed, sensing the eagerness in his tone. "Yes, I'll be here tomorrow. You did a great job today. You can clock out now and we'll have you do some more hands-on work tomorrow."

'_Hand's on work, huh?'_

"Alright Megan. Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome, Draco. See you later!"

Draco felt like he was flying on a Firebolt on his way home that evening. There had to be something wrong with him. He was feeling so unusual, but in a good way.

Obviously, muggles were human too and therefore some muggle females were bound to be attractive…but not like this. Not like Megan.

It wasn't just the idea that she was pretty; there was something in her essence that had instantly been absorbed into his blood. It was as if he had been waiting his entire life for this encounter to happen.

It felt like the fates had woven a perfect scenario together and placed him on a path that had led him to this place on this exact day to experience the precise moment of meeting her.

Draco plopped down onto his couch, running his hands through his hair as he tried to come to terms with the fact that he was crushing-hard on a muggle for the first time in his life.

Maybe it was just lust, frenzied lust? But Draco didn't think so. He didn't want to just shag the bones right out of her, he wanted to…respect her? Draco wanted to respect a muggle? He wanted to actually talk to her, get to know her, listen to her voice, and make her smile.

He couldn't wait to see her smile.

"What is happening to me?" Draco wondered out loud, and for a moment he wondered if Granger had done something to him to make him feel this way. Maybe this was all part of a plan to force him through the program?

Draco got up and looked suspiciously at his box of pop tarts left over from that morning. Had she poisoned him with a potion that would coerce him to suddenly become attracted to muggle women?

Draco shook the pop tart box until the packages fell out onto the counter. He inspected each one as best as he could without a wand until he was satisfied that they were safe.

He wondered if she had poisoned his water sources, maybe? Draco glanced suspiciously at the sink and then thought of the intricate process it would take to have accomplished that task and came to the conclusion that Granger would never spend that much time on him, even if it was only to make herself look good in the end.

Whatever the reason was that Draco was feeling this way towards this new woman in his life, one thing was clear, he wasn't going to be able to ignore the feelings coursing through his veins.

This didn't necessarily mean he was going to allow himself to follow through with his feelings, however.

For now, he would admire her from afar and indulge in any fun little 'innocent' fantasies that may pop into his mind along the way. What harm could come from it?

Then Draco realized that even if he did decide to act upon his impulses at some point, he would be home in a year and no one in the wizarding world would be the wiser of his transgression. He wouldn't have to tell a soul that he'd developed a crush on a muggle and had the audacity to court her.

A snide grin formed on his lips as he wondered what impression this idea would have on his father if he could tell him what he was thinking in that very moment.

/

_Narcissa smoothed Draco's blonde wispy hair back with her elongated fingers. Her perfectly manicured nails gently caressing his scalp as they passed through the strands of his hair. She knelt down in front of her young son and gave him a sweet smile._

"_How is my beautiful, pure-blood, baby boy today? Did you have fun at school?" _

_Six year old Draco smiled at his mother, two of his front teeth were missing. Lucius had found the sight of it jarring but Narcissa had refused to allow her husband to take Draco to a cosmetic clinic at such a young age. She thought it made him look positively adorable, Lucius thought it made him look jarring and neglected. _

"_Why not dye his hair red 'Cissy? He already looks like he can't afford dental care; maybe people will mistake him for a Weasley."_

_Narcissa glared daggers at her husband and the topic was never again breeched. Lucius knew better than to find himself on the business end of her wand and insulting her one and only son was a quick way to find one's self there._

_Little Draco took in a deep breath to prepare himself and quickly began to ramble on about his day, his gap causing a lisp to form in his accent. "Teacher took us on a field trip today and I saw Daddy's wine on display in one of the shop windows and I told everyone how my Daddy owns the wine and the store and how I can't drink wine because it's for grown wizards but one day I'll get to and I'll get to drink it before they get to because I'm a Malfoy and one boy didn't believe me but I showed him that my name was one the bottle but he still didn't believe me because he can't read and I can read and I know my name so I told him that I knew it said Malfoy and-"_

"_Draco, Draco dear, slow down. Slow down sweetie," Narcissa chuckled. _

_Draco took a series of deep breaths, his smile still plastered on his face. He loved being the center of his Mother's attention. He would think up stories all day to tell her if he could get her to listen to all of them._

"_I thought your field trip was to the history museum?" inquired Narcissa, trying to get Draco to focus. _

_Draco excitedly nodded his head, re-messing up the hair she had just neatly fixed. Sometimes he reminded Narcissa of a hyper little ferret, unable to settle down for more than a few seconds at a time. _

"_We did! Our family was in there too!"_

"_That's because you come from a very ancient wizarding family Draco and you should be very proud of that," instructed Narcissa._

"_I am! I told everyone in the class that I come from the same Malfoy family that was in the display so that means I'm a pure blood! Angie was like 'who cares' and I told her that it means I'm going to be a better wizard than her when I grow up."_

_Angie's real name was Angelica Davis but Draco couldn't pronounce Angelica properly even without his current lisp so he always called her Angie. Narcissa had a sneaking suspicion that Draco fancied the young girl since they fought and bickered nearly every day. Half the stories Draco told her when he got home were about her. Even if she had pulled his hair or made fun of his fair skin, he told her about it with a smile on his face._

_Narcissa continued to listen to her son tell her about his day, "And she said that wasn't true and I said that it was and I know that because my Daddy is a great wizard-"_

"_Draco...you're almost seven now. What did we tell you?" Narcissa prompted to correct him._

"_Sorry, I mean Father is a great wizard and that's because he has proper blood. Angie told me her grandmother is a muggle and I said that means that she's not a real witch then," Draco giggled, "She got mad. But I don't care because she told me I was going to grow up to be a squib yesterday! I know that's not true because Malfoy's can't be squibs. But teacher got mad and said that I can't tell people that they're not real wizards or witches but I told her that not everyone is one because that's what you and Daddy, I mean Father said. And I know I'm right and Angie is wrong, right?"_

"_That's right baby. Muggle-borns aren't real wizards. They're just pretending. Eventually we're going to fix society and make it so that you and your children grow up in a world with real wizards. No more imposters."_

"_How are we going to do that?"_

"_We're going to weed out those that don't belong. But you have to keep that between us okay?"_

"_Okay, mummy. Sorry-I mean mother."_

_Narcissa's heart ached a bit. She loved it when Draco called her mummy and she would miss the innocent term of endearment. But she and Lucius were determined to raise a proper and respectable, pure-blooded son. _

"_Draco, you have to be careful about the company you keep," Narcissa warned, "Do you know what I mean by that?"_

"_Nope," Draco proudly admitted with a gap-toothed smile._

"_It means that you can't be friends with just anyone. The people you surround yourself with will eventually define you. Do you ever see mudbloods visiting the manor?"_

_Draco thought for a moment, "No..."_

"_That's right. That's because they don't belong here. We don't associate ourselves with them. We're above them, we're better than them. You're better than them baby boy."_

"_Mother, why can you call me baby boy, but I can't call you mummy anymore?"_

_Narcissa chuckled. She couldn't get a thing past her son, "Because I'm still the boss of you and I'm not ready to call you anything else yet…and because I said so."_

"_Okay," Draco accepted his mother's explanation of rules whole-heartedly. _

"_Do you understand what I'm telling you Draco, about your friends? You can't be friends with Angie anymore."_

"_What? Why?" Draco whined. _

_Not that Angie was his friend or anything. He didn't really like her; he just liked to play with her from time to time. He could make fun of her and she didn't cry, and when she called him names it didn't hurt his feelings. _

"_Because if her grandmother is a muggle, then that means her family fraternizes with them. You're too young to be exposed to that kind of behavior. From now on I want you to be more careful about the friends you pick. Do you understand me Draco?"_

_Draco hung his head, "Yes mother."_

"_Good, now go take your bag upstairs to your room. I got you a new practice broom, its waiting for you."_

_Draco's face lit up, the topic of Angelica Davis already forgotten from his six year old thoughts. _

"_Go get it and you can play outside for a while before dinner"_

_Draco rushed upstairs to his room. _

_Narcissa waited until he was out of ear-shot before approaching her husband who was alone in his study._

"_Lucius dear, don't the Goyle's have a young a boy around Draco's age? I think we should arrange a few play dates for him."_

_/_

Draco recalled that Angelica went to Hogwarts with him, too. They had stopped talking early on in pre-school under his mother's request.

He tried to remember what house she had been in. He was pretty sure she had been in Ravenclaw.

What he remembered clearly was that her grandmother did not survive the war and her entire family had their wands stripped at Lucius's request when Umbridge took over the ministry.

Wherever Angie was now, she was probably still mad at the Malfoy family. Maybe she had heard about his sentencing and was laughing about his turn of fate?

Draco changed into his night wear and retired early to bed, determined to make the best of the next day ahead of him. The past was over with and the way his family had treated Angie had nothing to do with how we would react when he next encountered Megan.

It's not like he was going to interbreed with her or anything taboo like that. Maybe he would just consider becoming friends with her?

That was the point of this whole fiasco wasn't it?

'_If Granger finds out that I actually want to become friends with a muggle, she is going to have a heart attack,'_ Draco thought to himself as his head hit the pillow. _'That alone might just be worth it.'_

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A/N: I wasn't going to post this chapter until Monday. But I'm on twitter (jcchristian7) and just found out that today is officially Dramione Day! So in honor of all things Dramione, I decided to post an update! To celebrate this wonderful and joyous holiday you should go check out my new community- Best Dramione According To A Dramione Expert- for some great Dramione recommendations!

Don't forget to Review! Review! Review! And tell me which Dramione story is your favorite (other than this one of course) and maybe I'll add it to the community!

Happy Dramione Day!


	13. Not Always What They Seem

_Where am I today? I wish that I knew…Playing the role with nerves left exposed...With so much deception it's hard not to wander away…While others have excuses, I have my reasons why._

_-Nickel Creek_

.

There was an eagle owl perched on Hermione's desk when she walked into her office. The animal held out its claw and presented her with a letter. The stationary it was on was clearly expensive. Curiously, Hermione opened the envelope and read the contents within.

"You have got to be kidding me," she stated in disbelief as her eyes scanned over the letter in her hands.

The letter was from Lucius Malfoy requesting that she fail Draco out of the program to prevent him from being tainted by her beliefs that muggles and wizards should intermingle. He stated that he was afraid he may become persuaded to form 'relations' with the muggles and potentially threaten the family's precious and long-sustained bloodline. It also implied that money would be of no issue if that was her requirement to make his request a reality.

Hermione scoffed at the idea that Lucius Malfoy truly believed she could be bribed into anything.

"Your bloodline is more important than your son's freedom you swine?" How could he be so selfish?

The Malfoy's had stayed reasonably quiet since the war had ended but their hearts had clearly remained the same. It was just another reminder to Hermione of why she did this every day. It made her believe even more that she had to change the people's hearts in order to initiate real change in the wizarding world.

Hermione took out her quill and scribbled 'Go to Hell' over his request in large, angry letters. She thought about sending it back to him but instead crumbled it up and threw it into the waste bin.

The owl was still there, waiting for her to send a reply.

Hermione sighed in frustration, pulled out a piece of parchment and simply wrote in giant letters 'No' and sent it off with the owl.

Screw formality, Lucius Malfoy didn't deserve it from her. To her, this was just another confirmation that she had made the right choice when she decided to approach Draco's reformation with a more intimate tactic. She had used it before, only a handful of times and only with her most desperate cases, and it had always proven to be an effective approach.

Always.

Hermione closed her eyes and tried to imagine Lucius Malfoy having to go through her program one day in the future. Let him slip his toe out of line, just once and she'd be on him like white on rice. Living in a city of muggles would be hell twice over for that man, and at the same time would probably be the best thing for him.

Without warning, the door opened and Hermione spun around to see who was coming in.

Harry peeked his head inside the doorway before stepping inside, "Hermione? Oh Sorry, uh, is Hermione going to be back in soon?"

"Um-uh, um," Hermione stammered, "I-I think she said she would be back in about a-ah, an hour or so."

"Oh?" Harry took in with confusion, "I could have sworn she said she'd be in her office by now when I talked to her last."

"Yes, well, she said that something suddenly came up on the field that she needed to attend to," Hermione quickly bluffed.

"Did she? Well, what are you doing in her office than?" Harry suspiciously pried as he walked further into her office.

"She was…" Hermione took a step back and ran into the desk, "She was interviewing me for a position and told me to wait here."

"She told you to wait in her office for an hour until she came back? Well, that's rather rude. Why didn't she just reschedule?" Harry wasn't letting up. He could tell something was off.

Damn him.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. She appeared flustered when she took off. It all happened very sudden."

"Did it?" Harry eyed her over with suspicion then started to let up his intimidating glance just a smidge, "Well, I'm Harry Potter," he introduced with an extension of his hand.

Hermione accepted the gesture, which was a very odd thing to do. She couldn't recall ever shaking Harry's hand other than the time they had first met on the Hogwarts Express when they were eleven years old.

"I work alongside Hermione to run the department. I'm sure I could finish the interview while she's gone. Do you have your application?"

Hermione panicked for a moment, "No! I mean, no…she accidently took it with her when she rushed off."

"I see," Harry eyed her with suspicion again. "How about this, why don't you come back tomorrow, same time, to finish your interview? I'll tell Hermione I rescheduled it, alright?"

"Okay, that sounds fine," Hermione nodded as she started to head for the door, anxious to be free of Harry Potter's curious disposition of her.

"Excellent. I'll see you tomorrow than."

Hermione was hoping Harry would leave her alone at that, but instead he insisted on walking her all the way out of the office and to the main floor of the ministry.

"One more thing before you go," Harry called out.

"What's that?"

"What did you say your name was?"

Hermione panicked for a moment and said the first thing that came to her mind, "Megan. My name is Megan."

"Megan," Harry repeated, concentrating her name to memory. I'll see you tomorrow Megan!"

"See you tomorrow!" Hermione cursed herself and quickly apparated home.

It took another thirty minutes before the poly-juice potion lost its affect and she was able to return to her office as her honest self.

"Why didn't you just lock your bloody door?" Hermione cursed herself as she walked up the hallway leading to her office.

To no surprise, Harry was waiting for her inside her office when she returned.

"Hey, is everything alright with you?" he asked her.

"What? Why wouldn't everything be…oh, Oh! Oh yes, everything is fine now," Hermione closed her office door and shooed Harry out from behind her desk. He traded places with her and sat on the chair placed in front of her desk.

"Your interviewee said you rushed off all flustered. That's really unlike you. What happened?" he asked as he sat down.

"I let Croockshanks wander outside this afternoon on my lunch break and I forgot to let him back into the house. I was scared he might have run off,"Hermione quickly lied with a stress-relieved sigh.

Harry had a hard time feeling any sympathy for the creature Hermione called a cat. It was more like a scheming furry demon in his opinion.

"Were you able to find him?" Harry asked with as much concern as he could muster for a cat that he frankly despised.

"Yes, thankfully," Hermione pretended to be relieved. "He was whining outside the porch door when I got home. I think he thought I'd kicked him out for good. Poor thing."

"She seemed odd," pointed out Harry, bringing the subject forward to the girl named 'Megan' he had encountered just an hour ago.

"Did she? Why do you say that?"

Harry shrugged, "Really nervous is all. Like she had something to hide. Did you get far into the interview? I told her to come back tomorrow."

"Did you? Oh that isn't necessary. I won't be hiring her. She doesn't have enough experience in the field yet. I'll send her an owl later on and tell her she won't be needed."

"It's probably for the best. She didn't seem like the type that could handle much pressure."

"I completely agree with you."

"Right then," Harry stood up. "Just stopped in to make sure everything was okay. I should probably get back to work."

"Okay then," Hermione answered, "Oh and Harry. How is the bet going?"

"You and Luna are still the only ones who think he has a chance," said Harry with a smile and a wink, "Good thing you only put down five galleons. You'll get over your loss quickly when I win."

"In that case, put me down for forty-five more."

"Forty-five?" Harry nearly choked. That brought her total bet up to fifty galleons. That was equivalent to nearly five-hundred muggle pounds. Harry wanted to make sure he'd heard her right.

That was the largest bet placed thus far.

Hermione smiled confidently at him, "You heard me right. I have no doubt in my mind that I'm going to win this bet Harry and I want the rest of the office to see that."

Harry shook his head, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm positive."

With a sigh Harry complied with her request, "Alright Hermione. It's your loss. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to enjoy spending your fifty galleons but still, I'm sad I have to win against you."

"Get out of my office Harry Potter," Hermione teased.

Harry smiled and slipped out into the hallway, "See you later"

"Bye"

/

Draco didn't have to be at work until late that afternoon. He got up early, had his usual blueberry pop tart and left for store.

Draco scanned up and down the cosmetics aisle. If it weren't for all the pictures of male models plastered on bottles he would have no clue which products were meant for men and which for women. Draco read over a few hair care products and felt thoroughly lost. What in the blazes was moose and why would you put one on your head?

All these men looked exactly the same in the photos but surely all of these bottles didn't contain potions that did the exact same thing? Did they? What would be the point in that?

As if by some miracle, Draco looked up and saw Charlie looking at a product at the end of the same aisle. Draco happily called out his name and ushered him over.

"Draco!" Charlie happily greeted the strange but attractive man who didn't know how to use his own cash.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you!" exclaimed Draco with relief.

Charlie raised his eyebrow and gave Draco a suave expression, "Oh really now?"

Draco laughed, "I have no idea what I'm doing. I know that you're not working and you don't work here, obviously, but would you mind helping me out again?"

"That depends on if you'd mind actually giving me a call at some point?" Charlie crossed his arms and leaned onto his hip.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot that you gave me your number!"

"Do you still have it?"

"I-I think so," Draco pulled out his phone and scanned through the limited contacts. Charlie gazed nosily over his shoulders.

"Mudblood? Weird name isn't it?"

Draco felt a quick blush rise to his cheeks, "It's just-it's just a nickname," he brushed it off quickly.

'_Damnit. I have to remember to change that,'_ thought Draco as he scanned up through his contacts.

"There you are. Charlie. See? I didn't lose it."

"Yeah, but you never used it either," Charlie teased.

"Well you know. I've been busy at work and all."

"You got that job?" asked Charlie excitedly.

"Yeah, I did! Thanks to you helping me dress like a half-decent human being."

'_Wait? Did I just credit a muggle in my success? I think I did…Just let it go. No big deal. Focus on why you came here, Draco.'_

"Well shucks," Charlie waved his hand dismissingly.

"Here's my next problem. I know how to look alright now, but my hair is either suffocated under a wall of…" Draco tried to remember the word, "gel, that's right, gel. Or it's poofing up like a pigmy-puff atop of my head-"

"A pigmy what?" asked Charlie with a laugh.

"A-ahhh…,"Draco tried to think of a muggle creature similar to a pigmy puff, "Er-just fluffy. My head is getting really fluffy. I don't know what to use for it, and to be honest everything in this aisle looks exactly the same."

Draco felt a little odd as Charlie invited himself to run his hands through his hair. The only people who ever did to him this were his mother or the women he invited home to his bed. Never had a man done this to him before.

Never.

But it felt okay he guessed, and Charlie was going to help him control the mess he excused as his hair.

"Here," Charlie selected a white tub that had a picture of a bronzed male model flashing a confidant smile. "It's a bit pricey but it's going to give you everything you need. Which shampoo are you using?"

Draco felt a small rush of panic. He didn't know of any muggle shampoos! He frantically scanned the shelves and read the first label he saw, "Irish Springs!"

"Well stop it. If you use cheap product you're going to get cheap results."

He agreed with him there. Malfoys never used anything cheap because they deserved the best.

Charlie selected two more bottles form the opposite shelf and placed them in Draco's arms. "Use these two and I promise you'll start to look better. Less like a…what did you call it? A pigmy puff or whatever it was. I kinda like the sound of it really. It's cute!"

There was that wink again.

"Thanks Charlie, I can't tell you how much you've helped me."

'_I just thanked a muggle…but it's okay! World's still turning, right? Right. It's okay then.'_

"How about you thank me with a drink later tonight?"

'_What could it hurt?'_

He'd already managed to destroy most of the values he'd grown up with when he started to accept the idea he was crushing on a muggle waitress named Megan. If he was going to go against everything he knew to be right, he might as well do it the right way.

"Sure, why not. I'll give you a call after work."

"Great, I'll be waiting for your call." Charlie smiled, flashing all over his straight, pearly, overly-white teeth and giving him a final wink before commencing his own shopping.

Draco ran his tongue over his teeth inside of his mouth and decided to make a detour through the dental aisle. He usually kept his teeth clean with a weekly charm that prevented plaque buildup. While he had been given a toothbrush, it wasn't very good and he still hadn't discovered muggle dental floor and mouthwash.

When he had acquired all of his newly-necessary muggle hygiene products, Draco went to check-out and this time around he managed to be more precise with his money.

'_Being a muggle isn't so hard,_' Draco thought as he grabbed his purchases and walked back to his flat feeling confidant.

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A/N: Hope you liked the chapter! Happy Memorial Day! Celebrating the world's largest brat fest here in my home town! Woohoo!

Just wanted to let you know of a new fanpage I created where I share Dramione FF recommendations, Fan art, Dramione photos and all that good stuff. There is a FB page, and we're on twitter. You can find all the information on my profile! My top recommendations are located on my community page if you're not a FB/Twitter person.

As always, Thanks for reading! Remember to review! See you next chapter!


	14. Jumping In Feet First

_Save me, I'm lost. Oh lord, I've been waiting for you. I'll pay any cost, just save me from being confused. Show me what I'm looking for. Show me what I'm looking for…Oh, Lord. _

_-Carolina Liar_

.

Draco opened the new bottle of shampoo and began lathering it through his hair. He loved the smell and had to admit that Charlie had good taste. If it weren't for him being a muggle, Draco could actually picture himself becoming long-term friends with the man.

He dressed sharply, had expensive taste, spoke eloquently and had a sarcastic-witty personality. Draco felt fortunate to have stumbled across him in the midst of his agonizing sentence.

Draco finished washing and conditioning his hair then shut off the shower knob. A towel was hung over the shower wall that he pulled down and wrapped tightly around his waist.

After reading the instructions on the container of hair-care product, Draco twisted the top off and applied it generously. Already he was feeling more confident about working with Megan tonight.

His work uniform was laid neatly out on the bed waiting for him. Draco got dressed and grabbed a quick bite to eat. After his last encounter with the stove and the atrocious bowl of barely edible mac and cheese he'd managed to conjure, he had rapidly digressed back to non-cooked meals. Tonight's snack was a bagel with a light smear of cream cheese.

What he wouldn't give to have a decent meal. His stomach rumbled at the thought of it.

He certainly had a new appreciation for his house elves and in that moment he missed them terribly.

With a quick hand run through his hair, Draco could feel that it had finally dried. Noticing that his hair felt more controlled light, and close to how he kept it managed with magic he felt a little closer to irresistible; and with that irresistibility came a spark of his usual arrogance and confidence.

Draco locked up his apartment and started his trek to work.

/

Hermione locked up her office and started down the hall towards the Ministry floor. Harry passed her on her way out.

"Heading out early tonight, huh?" It was barely four and Hermione usually stayed in the office until the late hours of the night.

"Yeah, I need to cut back on my hours a bit. I've been having trouble sleeping and I think it's from the stress of over working myself," she quickly explained.

"You sure the stress isn't from the fact you know you're about to lose fifty galleons in a matter of months?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and mock glared at her scar inflicted friend. "No Harry. You have a goodnight."

"Oh yeah, I just love living in my office."

"Ginny isn't back from her mission?"

"No, no word yet. You know how it is. She'll pop up one of these days. Sometimes I feel like the department of mysteries married her and not me."

"You're a good man for supporting your wife in her career"

"Would you allow me to do any different?"

"Of course not."

"That's what I thought," said Harry with a smile. "Have a good rest of your night Hermione. I'll catch you in the morning."

"Why don't you take the morning off?" suggested Hermione. Harry looked tired and a bit worn down.

"You know that I don't sleep well without Gin'. I'll probably just stay here overnight, sleep on my desk after I clear out your whiskey drawer," Harry teased.

"Good luck with that. I locked my office."

"As if I don't know magic?"

"As if I don't know that," Hermione shot back. "If you manage to get in there I guarantee I'll be visiting you in the hospital tomorrow so leave it alone. Besides you're not supposed to be drinking on the job."

"Says the woman who keeps a mini bar in her office."

Hermione laughed. "Guilty."

"I won't keep you any longer. Good night Hermione."

"Goodnight Harry"

Hermione turned and made her way to the floo station where she quickly departed to a small flat located three blocks down from Draco's assigned apartment.

The room was used for officers she assigned to keep tabs on her program participants. They could transport here, communicate with the office and stay overnight if needed. Every assigned apartment had a base similar to this one located nearby.

Since Hermione made the schedule for all of the officers she had known that the room would be empty.

Hermione dug through her purse until she found a small silver flask. She tipped it back and drank the vile contents contained inside and allowed her body to change form.

Hermione looked at her reflection in the mirror to make sure her transformation had completed successfully.

"Hello there Megan," she said to her new reflection. A beautiful woman with curly dark brown hair smiled back at her.

"Let's go win that bet." Hermione walked to the closet, pulled out a work uniform and quickly changed.

/

When Draco arrived at work things were a chaotic mess.

Paul approached him appearing overwhelmed and flustered.

"Draco, so glad you're early! Listen, I know you're supposed to be training with Megan still but we're crazy busy and could really use the extra hand on the floor tonight. You think you could wing a section by yourself?"

"Uh…sure, I guess."

"Great, just jump in feet first and I'm sure you'll be fine. Go talk to the host and she'll assign you. I have to get back to the kitchen; we're short hands back there."

Paul hadn't been kidding. The shift was a nightmare.

Draco had no idea what kind of event was going on that had inspired everyone and their mother to go out to eat but the flow of tables seemed to never end. He was so absorbed in staying on his feet that he didn't have time to notice when Megan walked through the door to begin her shift.

Draco was tightening the lid on a kid's cup and complaining to himself about having to make fresh chocolate milk for bratty muggle spawn that didn't even deserve it when she accidently bumped into him.

"Sorry!" she quickly called out as she rushed a tray out of the alley.

That simple little brush was all it took to pull Draco out of his bad mood.

Draco approached his next table with an uncharacteristic smile.

"Hi folks, I'm Draco and I'll be your server tonight. What can I get you to drink?"

Of course the five year old yelled out, "Chocolate milk!"

Draco didn't even scowl at him, "Sure thing. And what about you…?"

"You're sure in a good mood tonight," noticed Megan as she stood beside him in the alley, putting a salad together.

"Well, you know. Just happy to be working I guess," said Draco as he topped her salad off with a portion of croutons.

"How are you fitting in so far? Have you been able to keep up tonight? I can't believe Paul just threw you out there like that."

"Yeah, it hasn't been so bad."

"I noticed you've had a lot of little kids at your tables tonight. I feel bad for you. I hate having to make chocolate milk from scratch, the syrup always makes such a mess and they always want refills."

"It's not so bad," Draco bluffed.

Megan smiled at him and his heart soared.

"I guess that's a good attitude to have." Megan placed her salad onto a tray. "Have your guest been nice to you so far?"

Draco nodded with a smile, "Not as nice as you are to me, but they've been decent I guess."

For a second he thought she might have blushed. "Well I am your trainer after all. I'm supposed to be nice to you."

"Yes, you are my trainer and you've taught me everything I know" Draco followed her down the alley as they made her way towards the floor.

"You're too sweet," she mock-gushed.

"Let me take you out for a drink tonight?" The words rushed out of Draco's mouth before he could stop them.

He didn't know if it was the heat from the kitchen, the loss of feeling in his fingers from having to stir chocolate milk all night, or the confidence from his angel-soft hair that had made him ask her out, but he had done it and there was no taking it back.

She turned around abruptly, her tray still in hand causing Draco to almost run into her.

"Sure…Ah, who else is coming?"

Who else is coming? Wasn't he enough company for her? Draco thought quickly, "My friend Charlie! He invited me out for a drink tonight and I thought you might want to come out with us."

"Yeah, okay. That sounds fun. Fill me in after work. I gotta get this salad out to my table before it gets warm."

"Okay, I'll catch you in a bit!"

As soon as Megan disappeared onto the floor, Draco frantically got back to locating his entrees that needed to be run out to his tables. It had been worth the extra few minutes his tables had to wait to know that he would get to spend the entire night with Megan…and Charlie.

/

Hermione shut herself in the bathroom stall, reached into her apron and pulled out her flask. She tipped it back and drank more polyjuice potion. She would need it to last a few hours longer than she initially expected.

She couldn't believe that Malfoy was actually being social with muggles!

Hermione couldn't help the victorious smile that was spread across her face. Harry and Ron were going to eat their words and she was going to be galleons richer. Not that the money mattered. She didn't need the money, she wanted the pride of being right.

In all honesty, her intentions were to return everyone's bet to make a point, but in the meantime she could make them all sweat it out as Draco soared through his program with flying colors.

'Who in the blazes is Charlie?' she wondered to herself. She has expected it to take months before Malfoy made an acquaintance, much less a friend.

He was acting so out of character.

Maybe this was the real Draco? Maybe he put up a front for the wizarding world and the people that he didn't like? When he thought himself to be free from judging eyes he was carefree and smiley.

It was odd to see Draco smile. But Hermione rather liked it.

'At least I won't have to show up here as frequently as I thought. He's doing fine. I don't really need to be here at all,' Hermione thought to herself as she checked her appearance in the mirror. She pulled her hair out of its tight bun and frowned. Even in this new body, her hair insisted on frizzing-out in a million directions.

The change in scenery was nice compared to her office. Yes, the job was fast paced, stressful and her feet ached when she was done but it was good for her to mix things up every once in a while. She decided she would remain under-cover on and off for at least a couple more weeks. If only to make sure Draco didn't move backwards on his progress.

She couldn't believe he was doing so well!

Hermione stepped out of the bathroom to find Draco waiting for her in the lobby.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah, where are we going again?"

"Good question. One sec," Draco pulled out his cellphone. Hermione pretended not to notice how awkwardly he dialed the numbers into the keypad and looked away as he called up Charlie to find out where he wanted to meet for that drink.

"I'm bringing a friend with me. Is that okay?" Draco asked Charlie over the phone.

'A friend is it?' Hermione thought with a smug smile.

"Okay great. See you in a few." Draco hung up the phone and shoved it back into his pocket. "Oh wait," he took the phone back out. "I need your number."

"My number?"

"Yeah, I mean unless you don't want to give it to me?"

"No, uh that's fine."

Hermione thanked Merlin that she had a spare cellphone on her that was typically given to officers to use to keep in touch with their assignments on the field. She would have to remember to make the number unavailable for use once she got back to the office.

"Here, let me put it in." she offered as she took Draco's phone in hand. She didn't need to watch him struggle to operate the contraption anymore than he already had. She quickly entered her number and started to type in H-E-R. Her heart jumped and she hit the back key quickly before he noticed the mistake. She carefully entered M-E-G-A-N into the contacts, pressed save and handed it back. "There you go."

"Thanks. He said the bar is just a couple blocks from here. You ready to go?"

"Yup, lead the way."

Draco held the door open for her and then followed her outside into the warm night air.

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A/N: Happy Birthday to Draco Malfoy! Woohoo! I wasn't going to post today but then I remembered that it was his birthday and felt that I needed to do something in his honor. Hope you liked the update. If you did, or if you didn't remember to review and let me know what you thought!

Check out my profile page to follow DramioneXpert on twitter and facebook or subscribe to my community for great Dramione recommendations.

If you live in Wisconsin, like I do, I hope you voted in the Recall Election today. We can't let Lord Voldemort…I mean Scott Walker…take over our state! Don't let it happen!

Thank You! –

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Enjoy Draco Malfoy's birthday and I'll see you all next chapter!


	15. A Blurred Realization

_For being the perfect distraction; for the way you took the idea that I have of everything that I wanted to have, and made me see there was something missing; for the way you're something that I'd never choose…you're the best thing I never knew I needed._

_-Ne-Yo_

._  
_

Draco spotted Charlie learning against the far side of the bar, waiting for them.

"How'd you get here so fast?" Draco asked.

"This is what I do when I'm not out making the world beautiful," said Charlie jokingly as he held up his glass. "I drink," he winked at Draco and moved down two bar stools to invite them to sit down and join him. "Who's your friend?"

Charlie took hold of Hermione's hand and kissed it charmingly.

"This is Megan," Draco said. He felt a jealous flicker in his gut then he reminded himself that Charlie was most likely gay and he didn't need to feel territorial over the muggle girl who was quickly destroying all of the pure-blood standards he'd had engrained into him over the course of his life.

"I'm Charlie," he flashed his dazzling white smile at her, "Do you work with Draco?"

"Yes, I was supposed to be training him still but after tonight I can see that he's doing just fine without my guidance." She meant that in more than one way.

"That's not true," Draco disagreed.

"I'm sure it's not," Charlie teased. He raised his hand and signaled for the bartender. "For the record Draco, you're a terrible date," he said to Draco. "I would never bring a girl with me on a first date."

"That's because you'd never date a girl," joked back Draco confirming his suspicions about Charlie's orientation.

Charlie shrugged, "Yeah, I guess that's part of the reason too. But it's truly a shame that you're a breeder," he signed and turned to face him, admiring the beauty of his face. "I could have made you even more beautiful."

"So what does that mean? You're not going to give me any more advice because I ruined our supposed date?" said Draco with a laugh.

"Well, I might change my mind if you buy me my next drink," Charlie batted his eyelashes at him playfully and Hermione laughed out loud. She couldn't believe what she was witnessing.

"Sure, your next one is on me."

The bartender made his way over, "What can I do you for?"

Draco turned to the man behind the bar, "Whatever the lady wants."

The bartender looked at Hermione expectantly.

"No, no, not her. That one," Draco pointed towards Charlie.

"Draco my dear, has anyone ever told you how charming you are?" retorted Charlie sarcastically before ordering his drink.

"Yes actually, a very bossy witch…ah, woman once told me I was charming. What do you think Megan? Am I charming?" Draco leaned in towards her, his eyes flashed with a seductive aggression.

"It's not very nice to call a lady a witch you know," she pointed out.

"Trust me. She's no lady," laughed Draco.

Hermione couldn't help but glare at him. Then she remembered how she was presenting herself in that moment. She was Megan, the muggle waitress who didn't know about witches and didn't care that Draco was insulting Hermione in front of her face. She squinted her eyes dramatically and pretended to act playful, "A bit naughty, you know? Calling people names?" She tsked her teeth. "I don't think that's very charming of you."

The bartender interrupted before Draco could response. "What about the two of you."

Draco waited for Megan to order first.

Hermione usually didn't drink unless she was stressed out or avoiding something. And during those occasions she stuck to drinks that got the job done. Whiskey or gin. But she needed to remain in control so she ordered light. "I'll just take a vodka-cran, thanks."

The bartender nodded and looked to Draco. "Whatever you have on tap is fine," Draco ordered.

"Yup," the bartender walked away and assembled their drinks.

The three of them spent the next hour drinking, laughing and getting to know each other. Hermione didn't know where Draco had found Charlie but she like him a lot. He was funny, witty and had an incredibly unique personality. She never would have imagined in a million years that he was the kind of person Draco would want to hang around.

Then again, she had no idea that Draco practically had his friends hand-picked for him by his parents since the age of six…

Hermione looked at the clock wearily. She would have to leave pretty soon. She didn't bring enough polyjuice potion with her to last the entire night since she had anticipated only needing it for the duration of her shift.

Draco pulled her attention away from the clock. His eyes were glazed over and he had a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Both he and Charlie were clearly drunk. They had both been drinking at a significantly faster pace than she had.

Hermione tried to forget what had happened the last time Draco got drunk. She couldn't help but wonder if he would try to lead her to the top of a building next…

"Megan," Draco slurred. Charlie leaned forward on the counter and watched their conversation, resting his chin on his arm.

Hermione turned to look at the intoxicated blond standing next to her.

"Megan," he repeated as if he had forgotten that he'd just said her name. "Megan, do you want to see a magic trick?"

Charlie perked up and lifted his head.

Hermione cursed Draco inside her head. If he fucked up this opportunity over a few beers and the desire to impress a girl who wasn't even real, she was going to kill him. She braced herself for the worst and said, "Sure," through gritted teeth.

Draco's smile never left his face as he reached his hand into his pocket. "Uh-uh, look at me." He pointed to his eyes and directed her to stare back into them. Hermione noticed in that moment how unbelievably gray they were. It was almost unreal.

Suddenly Draco gasped dramatically, pulling her out of her gaze. "Wha-what? How did this get here?"

Charlie clapped his hands and started to snicker. "That was so stupid Draco, bravo!"

Draco had pulled a coin out from behind her ear that he'd found earlier in his pocket.

Hermione laughed, more so from relief than from amusement. For a moment there she thought Draco was about to do something incredibly stupid.

Well, the trick was incredibly stupid. But it was also incredibly legal, Thank Merlin.

"Here you go, Love," Draco slipped the coin into her hand. He took a page from Charlie's book and winked at her. "Something to remember me by."

"Remember you by? I'm going to be seeing you every week."

"I know but you don't work tomorrow and I thought you might miss me."

"How do you know that I don't work tomorrow?" Hermione pried.

"Because I know where your schedule is kept."

"That's not creepy at all," snorted Charlie.

"Our schedules are posted in the same place, you dolt. I peeked," Draco defended himself.

"Well, in that case I guess you do have a hint of charm left in you."

"See? Told you."

Hermione pocketed the coin and decided to say goodnight. "Well gentlemen, I'm afraid I have to leave you for the night." She gave Charlie a friendly hug, "It was great to meet you Charlie." She looked to Draco and extended her hand, it would be too weird to hug him. "I'll see you at work Draco."

She was caught off guard as Draco swept her into a hug anyway, "How come he gets one and I don't eh? Is it 'cause I'm not gay? That's racist you know."

Hermione rolled her eyes and pushed herself away from his chest gently, "It's not racist Draco. It's homophobic," she corrected.

"Either way, it's rude." He justified.

"If you say so," she couldn't help but laugh. "Anyway, thank you for the drink and I'll see you later."

"Feel free to sleep with that coin in your pocket!" Draco called out after her as she reached the door. "It's good luck!"

"I don't sleep with pockets!" Hermione called back.

Draco wolf-whistled, "Hey, now! That's quite sexy! What else don't you sleep with, eh?"

Hermione shook her head and laughed, "You're a moron!"

Draco grabbed onto his heart, "So charming of you!"

"Bye!' Hermione waved and exited the bar.

Draco turned back to Charlie who was giving him a suspicious look.

"What?" asked Draco as he picked up his drink and took a swig of it.

Charlie shook his head, "You are such a breeder"

"What does that even mean?"

"It means that you're going to go to waste because I can't have you first of all," he said with a pouted lip, "And secondly it means that you are so into that girl."

"So what if I am?"

"Nothing, even I can see that she's cute."

"She's more than cute. She's gorgeous. I've never felt this way about a girl before." He didn't know if it was the alcohol in his system that was causing him to be so open and truthful or if he was starting to see Charlie as an honest friend. Draco looked for the words to describe the way he felt. "It's like…It's like she's everything I never thought I wanted."

"And that's attractive to you?" Charlie looked confused.

"That's exactly my point. It's like I never knew what I really needed until I met her."

"Geez, that's heavy. How long have you known her?"

"Two days," confessed Draco.

Charlie laughed, "You're crazy."

"Seems that way, doesn't it? But I have to tell you, it feels great."

"Amen to that."

They picked up their glasses and clinked them together as they toasted to losing their minds.

/

Draco stumbled home and flopped into bed. He didn't even bother to change out of his clothes. He didn't care to. He and Charlie had stayed in the bar until closing time. He was thoroughly smashed by that point and everything around him felt incredibly comfortable.

He bunched up the covers and wrapped himself in them with a sigh.

"I think I've gone mad," he said out loud to himself.

Thoughts of Megan swarmed his mind. There was something familiar about her that he liked. It felt like he might have known her from another life. The feeling he had inside himself was that they were somehow made for each other and that had to explain his unnatural draw towards her.

Draco pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and tried to remember how to use the text messaging feature. He struggled to recall what he had read in his drunken state and eventually had to surrender the warmth of his self-made blanket-cocoon to grab his instruction packet.

He glanced over the pages that reminded him of how to operate a cellphone and then set the packet on the nightstand beside the bed.

Draco lay on his back as he scrolled through his contacts until he found Megan's name listed right above Mudblood. He opened up a text box, wrote, 'What are you doing?' and hit send.

He waited for a reply and was pleasantly surprised when a tone rung back almost immediately.

'Draco?'

'Yes?' He text back with a silly smile on his face.

'Go to bed.'

He frowned and typed, 'Goodnight then Megan'

Maybe he was coming on too fast? Obviously she didn't feel as strongly about him as he was feeling about her, which was understandable considering Draco was almost positive he was suffering from a bout of insanity. So he decided to set his phone down on the night stand, shut the lights off and go to bed.

He was about to shut his eyes when the small cell phone screen lit up, filling the room with light.

Draco grabbed his phone eagerly and opened the prompting message.

'I had fun tonight. Goodnight'

Draco smiled again, set the phone down and fell asleep with a grin on his face.

/

Hermione was ecstatic when she got home.

Crookshanks was standing on the kitchen counter waiting for her to get home. He meowed at her as if to chastise her for coming home so late when he had stayed up waiting for her.

"You're mad because I'm home late? Well wait until you hear who I've been out all night with. I don't expect you'll be very pleased." Hermione brushed her hand through his fur and he arched his back up, eager for more petting.

Hermione scooped him up in her arms and carried him with her to the bedroom. Crookshanks began to purr, content in his mother's arms.

Hermione set him down on the bed and he meowed at her, demanding to be picked up again.

She ignored his request and began to change into her night clothes. "I spent tonight in a muggle bar with Draco Malfoy with all people," she said to the cat as she pulled her shirt down over her midriff. "At his request no less. We're going to win this bet for sure."

Hermione pulled back her covers and slid into bed. Crookshanks pounced up and lay down beside her, curled into her shoulder.

A soft purr buzzed against her hair as she started to pet him again. A stifled yawn escaped her mouth, "I think that my suspicions were right about Draco. He just needed the opportunity and permission to do the right thing. Maybe he's not so bad after all. I know it's odd to say but I actually had fun with him tonight."

Crookshanks responded with a soft meow and snuggled closer.

"Goodnight," Hermione yawned and shut her eyes.

A text message pulled her out of her sleep an hour later. She rolled to her side and couldn't believe who her text was from. She read the name at the top of the message but she couldn't be sure.

'Draco?' she typed.

'Yesss?' came back immediately. She noticed he spelt it with three S's. He was drunk.

Hermione chuckled, shook her head and typed back, 'Go to bed.'

He didn't know what he was doing.

'Good night then Megan' came back.

Megan?

Oh yeah. She still was getting used to her name.

Hermione suddenly felt a pinch of guilt for deceiving Draco, but it faded away almost as quickly as it had overcome her.

She picked up the cellphone and responded, 'I had fun tonight. Goodnight'

It was true. To her pleasant surprise, she'd had lot of fun on her night out with Draco Malfoy.

Hermione turned her phone on silent and went to back to bed.

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A/N: Sorry I missed the update last week. I'm suffering from a little writer's block. Send some inspiration my way! I have the next few chapters written. I just don't like to post unless I have a nice section of the story completed. Because updating as I write makes me write badly...


	16. Falling Apart

_I wanna be drunk when I wake up, on the right side of the wrong bed… Should I, Should I? Maybe I'll get drunk, again. I'll be drunk again…to feel a little love._

_-Ed Sheeran_

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Draco woke up with splitting headache, sprawled out over the bed with his head hanging over the edge.

What he wouldn't give for a hangover tonic in that moment. He sat up with a groan, holding the side of his head heavily in his hand. His entire body felt like lead as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

"Draco, you are a moron," he cursed himself as he ran the water in the shower, stripped down and stepped inside. The water felt good, as if it was rinsing away the grime from the bar.

At least he had fun last night. He couldn't remember the last time he came home so drunk that he didn't bother to change out of his clothes before retiring to bed.

Draco stretched and yawned. His face contorted into a grimace as he felt his muscles ache in pain, result from sleeping in such an awkward position. He turned the water heat up, hoping that the temperature would help to relax his muscles.

After lollygagging in the shower; Draco stepped out, dried his hair, and got dressed

His stomach growled. He looked through his pantry and frowned at the box of pop tarts staring back at him.

He'd hit his wall.

He couldn't eat another one. He was certain that, if he did, he might just turn into one.

He stomach growled again, louder this time.

Real food, that's what he needed.

Draco walked back into his bedroom and picked his phone off of the nightstand. He opened a text box and wrote, 'Enjoying your day off? We should get breakfast'

He selected Megan's name, sent the text and waited eagerly for a reply.

/

Hermione was resting her head on her desk when she heard the phone in the drawer of her desk vibrate.

As he had promised, Harry stayed late into the night working. When Hermione came in that morning she found him passed out on his desk. She woke him up and ordered him to go home to get some decent sleep. It wasn't until she sat down in her own office that she realized she too lacked decent sleep.

She felt terrible and coffee wasn't giving her the pick-up she needed.

Hermione didn't believe in hangover tonics. She thought that, if you were responsible enough to consume that much alcohol than you should be responsible enough to feel the consequences the next day. Those tonics just allowed people to abuse the substance and she considered herself disciplined enough not to use one.

However, today, it was tempting to break her own rules.

The text message was begging to be read as the vibrating continued to prompt her. She pulled the drawer out and opened the text.

She shouldn't have been surprised to see that the text was from Draco. He was the only person who had the number to this phone.

He was trying to get her to join him for breakfast.

'Too weird' she thought as she began to text him back.

'I need to sleep in. Sorry.' She lied in the message. 'Have fun at work' she added then sent the text.

She had just shut the phone back in her drawer when her office door opened and Edith came in with a series of reports for her.

Hermione did her best to sit up, pay attention and function properly when all she wanted to do was take a nap.

After Edith informed her that Blaise had just been fired from his job, she decided that breakfast with Draco didn't sound so bad after all.

If only she had the time.

Since she had sent Harry home, she would have to deal with Blaise herself.

"Oh joy," Hermione said out loud as she locked up her office and set out for the field.

/

Draco frowned when he got the text back. He tried Charlie to see if he wanted to meet him for breakfast but he text back, 'Pretty sure I woke up drunk. Going back to bed. Why don't you try Megan? ;)'

He sighed and walked back into the kitchen. The pop tart box was still staring him, trying to seduce the rumbling in his stomach.

"This is the last time I let you have your way with me," he growled as he dropped two pasties into the toaster and started his day.

/

It was snowing at Blaise's location. Hermione quickly stopped by the officer's station, which was a small, yet cozy, room located behind a bakery and grabbed a jacket before making her way to Blaise's apartment.

She didn't even bother to knock as she unlocked the door and welcomed herself in.

"Please tell me how you managed to get fired from a job you've had for only two days?"

Blaise scowled at her, "I don't remember inviting you in."

Blaise was wrapped up in a blanket, sitting on his couch. He didn't even bother to get up as Hermione spoke to him from across the room.

Hermione ignored his comment. "What happened?"

"This stupid bloody program happened, that's what. I'm not cut out to live like this!"

It was true. Blaise looked terrible. As much as Draco was struggling to become acclimated, he looked like he was thriving next to Blaise's state.

"Blaise, did you read the information packet we provided you with?"

"I've been looking at it," Blaise lied.

"Don't just look at it. Read it thoroughly. If you follow the instructions in there, you should have no problem fitting in muggle world."

Hermione hugged her jacket closer to her body, she was freezing. "Why is it so cold in here?"

"Because I don't have a wand to heat things up," said Blaise with a scowl. You could practically see his breath as he spoke.

It was then she realized how pale he looked, his nose was red and runny, his eyes were bloodshot and dry, and he was shivering.

"Blaise, you're a mess," Hermione pitifully sighed as she walked over to the thermostat and turned on the heat. "Come here, look at this."

Blaise pulled himself reluctantly off the couch and shuffled to stand behind Hermione.

"This controls the heat," Hermione explained, "You set the temperature here. Do you understand? The instructions on how to do this are in your packet. You need to read it. Not just because it'll help you get through the program but it will keep you healthy."

Blaise sniffled as he did his best to pay attention.

Hermione sighed again, "You look sick."

Blaise shook his head stubbornly, "I'm fine."

Hermione couldn't help it, she felt his forehead. He flinched back.

"Stop it; I'm trying to see if you have a fever."

Blaise shooed her hand away but she insisted on pressing the back of his head to his temple. She practically smacked him, but she got her way. "You're warm but you're right; you don't have a fever."

Blaise glared at her, "Just let me go home."

"If you go home, you're going home to a cell in Azkaban."

"I know that. I don't care."

"I'm not going to let you just quit."

"Why not? Potter would."

"Harry would not let you just quit Blaise. He helped me put this program together. He doesn't just work for me, he actually believes in what we do."

Blaise pulled himself back to the couch and laid down. He looked depressed and was feeling sorry for himself.

"How's Draco doing? Has he been sent back yet?" Blaise asked.

"Draco's doing really well actually."

Blaise looked at Hermione like he didn't believe her.

"It's true. He has a job, he's been able to get new clothes, feed himself, and get around town. He's even making friends."

"Friends with muggles?" Blaise sneered. Now he knew that she had to be lying.

"Yes. Friends with muggles," she repeated.

Blaise knew Draco better than that, "Draco would never befriend a muggle. He'd rather pull his own teeth out."

"Well that's funny because he still has all his teeth and he's making friends with muggles. He's my case, I supervise him myself and I've seen it with my own two eyes. He wouldn't want me telling you this but I think that knowing he's doing well might motivate you to get up off that couch and take care of yourself."

Blaise didn't look convinced.

Hermione sat down on the end of the couch beside him, "Look. I know that you hate this. Trust me, Draco hates it too. But no one other than Harry, me, and the officers that work for us, has to know what you do in the program. Sure, passing the program means you had to get along with muggles at some point during all of this, but the details of your program and interactions are confidential between the department and the Ministry. The general public isn't going to know if you make friends with a couple muggles, or work for a muggle employer. I don't report to the Daily Prophet. I report to the Wizengamont, remember?"

"I told a lady that the jeans she was trying on didn't fit her because she was shaped like a hippogriff…," muttered Blaise, confessing why he lost his job. He sat up and sighed, "Apparently, even muggles realize that's not a compliment. I would have just gotten a write up for it but then I had a second incident shortly after."

"What happened the second time?"

Blaise shifted, "There was a man who came in and asked me how he looked in one of the jackets we were selling. He had this huge beard and hair…just…," Blaise motioned his hands across his entire body," just all over…everywhere. Reminded me of Hagrid a bit, so I told him he looked like a half-breed and they fired me on the spot."

"Are you surprised? Even in the wizarding world you wouldn't get away with comments like that." Hermione chose to ignore the fact that Blaise had just alluded to calling Hagrid a half-breed.

"Yeah, I know that. But in the wizarding world I don't have to work retail now do I? When people ask me my opinion I'm honest about it. Unlike Draco, I'm not a liar. I'm proud of my thoughts, even if they get me into trouble."

"That doesn't sound very Slytherin to me."

"Well, you don't know me very well do you?"

"I guess…" The apartment was starting to warm up. Hermione unzipped her jacket. "So, how 'bout it Blaise? You want to give this another shot? If you can get another job this week I'll let you cover your rent late next month."

"And if I can't?"

"Then we'll talk."

"Potter said that if I can't make my rent then I'm out of the program."

"Yes, that's true. But I'm Harry's boss and I can change the rules if I'd like. Just don't tell anyone that I did."

"That doesn't sound very Gryffindor of you."

"Yes, well, you don't know me very well either," replied Hermione with a smile.

Blaise took a moment to mull over his options, "What job does Draco have?"

"He's a waiter."

Blaise broke out in an amused smile, "Seriously?"

"Cross my heart."

"I wonder what he looks like in an apron," Blaise chuckled.

"You're allowed to write him, you know?"

"I know. But I don't think that I should. I'd just make fun of him all the time and we probably wouldn't walk away from this friends, anymore," Blaise was still laughing to himself.

"Why don't you apply at a job that's less social? Like a factory job or something inside a cubicle? Promise me you'll look at your packet and apply for the positions that actually fit your skill set?"

"I guess I'll give it another go. Just don't tell Draco I got fired when you see him. I don't want him thinking he can do something better than me. Even if it is behaving like a muggle."

Hermione smiled, "I promise I won't say a word." She stood up and helped Blaise get off the couch.

"Go to the drug store two blocks down from here and get some medicine for that cold alright? You still have some money left, don't you?"

Blaise nodded, "Yeah. I'm alright with that."

"Good. I'll send Harry over in a couple days to make sure you're doing better. Hang in there, Blaise. A year goes by faster than you think."

/

Draco didn't understand how working a job like this was going to convince him to like muggles. If anything, his hatred had expanded.

If he heard one more complaint he was going to create a make-shift wand and _Crucio_ a muggle in the face with the sheer power of his annoyance.

'My salad is too small-

Your salad isn't too small. Your mouth is too big.'

'I said I didn't want ice-

You don't want ice? Too bad. It's there. Drink it. It'll melt eventually and you'll be okay.'

'No I don't want anything to drink…Wait, where's my water? –

Water is a drink, moron. If you wanted water you should have said so when I asked you what you wanted to drink!'

'This isn't hot-

Wait, 180 degrees isn't considered hot to you? What would you like me to do? Burn it?'

'My plate is too hot! –

Then stop trying to touch it while I set it down for you! There's a reason I didn't just place it in your hands!'

'This doesn't seem like a lot of food –

It doesn't seem like a lot of food because your eyes are bigger than your stomach and you don't fit in a booth.'

'Can I see a manager? –

No you can't see a manger. You can deal with me. My manager doesn't want to see you. Neither do I, but you're my problem now, aren't you?'

'My order was wrong. Can I have a free desert? –

What in Merlin's name does desert have to do with an incorrect order? Here's what you can have, your order made correctly and no desert. Desert has nothing to do with this conversation!'

'Why does that cost more? –

It cost more because food cost money. Crazy concept, I know!'

'Don't we get bread with this? –

You get to have what I give you and that's final.'

'How much is that? A dollar more? Oh no, that's too expensive! –

If you can't afford a dollar upcharge, how are you going to tip me? Why am I wasting my time with you? I should make you get your own food from the kitchen you cheap little…'

'Why do I have to pay for extra sauce? –

Because sauce isn't free. Sauce cost money. Didn't we cover this already?'

'What's taking our food so long? –

We have to cook it and that takes time. Would you like to eat your chicken raw you idiotic, half brained, dim-witted muggle!'

Draco was about to blow up.

He was fairly certain half of the things he thought had remained in his head but he wasn't entirely sure. To be frank, he was almost at the point where he didn't care if his filter worked or not. These muggles were imbeciles who deserved to be told the error of their moronic ways.

Draco was angrily throwing a few rolls into a basket when Paul approached him.

"Draco, your table just told me that you asked them if you looked like a…a house elf was it? What is that? Are you doing okay? If you need help, just ask. I know we rushed your training and all but I don't want you to take on more than you can handle."

Draco took a deep breath before he spoke, "I'm fine. I just need some time to deal with the mental capacity of our guests."

Luckily, Paul laughed at this. "I know that it can be hard to deal with sometimes. We all get problem tables. You have to just take a deep breath, keep your thoughts to yourself and remember that they're going to leave eventually. You'll get more good tables than you will bad ones and it makes the job worth it."

Draco nodded his head, "I guess."

"Now, what is a house elf?" asked Paul with an amused grin.

"Nothing worth-while. It's just a joke from back home. I don't think they really got my humor."

"I guess not. I wouldn't tell it again."

"Trust me, I won't," Draco walked past Paul and out to his table that was waiting for a refill on their bread.

The end of his shift couldn't have come sooner.

Draco pulled out his phone and turned it on to find there were no messages waiting for him.

For some odd reason, he felt disappointed. Was he hoping that Megan had tried to message him?

Maybe?

But that was stupid. Megan knew Draco was working so why would she try to message him?

Still…it would have been a nice pick-me-up to find a message from her after the night he'd just had.

Draco opened a new text box and wrote, 'I really need a drink'

He sent it to Megan and waited for a reply.

It was almost instant.

'Sure. Where do you want to meet?'

"Nice to see you smile again. I promise, tomorrow will be better," said Paul as he walked past Draco.

Draco nearly felt himself blush. Was it that obvious he was happy to hear back from this girl?

'Same place as last time' Draco typed back and walked out the door.

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A/N: I'm updating early because I go to a non-traditional University and I have finals for my math class this week. I'm going to be overwhelmed and very very busy. I wanted to make sure I got the next chapter up, however. Also, check out my profile and sign the petition to keep stories like mine on . Otherwise I'll have to update on the other fiction sites I am a part of. I've been on this site for 10 years and don't appreciate the pressure of knowing my stories could be deleted any day because of a bad rating system.


	17. Love Gone Stale

_Now and then I think of when we were together…told myself that you were right for me, but felt so lonely in your company, but that was love and it's an ache I still remember… And I don't even need your love, but you treat me like a stranger and I feel so rough…Now you're just somebody that I used to know…_

_-Gotye_

.

_Hermione had always felt like there was an assumed engagement between her and Ron. If she woke up one day married to him, without having been proposed to, she would not be surprised in the slightest._

_There was an unspoken sadness surrounding the table as the Weasleys sat together for a meal at the Burrow. It was the first family gathering without Fred. So, to avoid having to acknowledge how awkward it was to be together now that Fred was dead, the family set its attention to the future happiness of Ron and Hermione._

_After the war ended they had felt an unquenchable need to be together. Hermione figured they could consider themselves to be dating, boyfriend and girlfriend, or however you wanted to phrase it. But again, that was one of those things that existed without needing to be said. _

_Ron took hold of her hand beneath the table and gave it an affectionate squeeze. Hermione returned the gesture with a smile. _

_This had to be the most uncomfortable meal she'd ever had. It felt like a funeral and an interview at the same time._

"_I think it's so wonderful that you and Ron are finally together! You know that you've always been considered part of the family anyway," stated Mrs. Weasley as she reached across to grab a slice of bread from the presented loaf. _

_A part of the family_

_Yes, Hermione had always felt welcomed at the Weasley's. But being a part of the Weasley's and becoming a Weasley were two completely different things. At least they should have been, but they never sounded that way when Molly talked about Hermione being with her son. It was absolutely clear that she assumed the two of them would be married soon._

_Hermione was still trying to come to terms with the idea of having a real boyfriend, and her first steady relationship._

_What bothered her most was that Ron didn't seem to mind in the slightest that everyone around them was pressuring them to rush their relationship. _

_On one hand, it was flattering that he was so crazy in love with her that the idea of marrying her didn't scare him off._

_On the other hand, Hermione had just graduated from Hogwarts and had plenty of dreams she wanted to pursue that didn't involve a wedding dress or a cradle in her near future._

_She wanted to be with Ron, but she also wanted to take her time to live her own life before focusing on the idea of family._

"_Ze two ov you 'av alvavs looked like zuch ze parfect couple," expressed Fluer as she took Bill's hand into her own. She was staring at them dreamily, inspired by the romance that came along with young love. "I don't know vhy you vaited for zo long to admit zat you lov' each other," she said with a hopeful sigh._

"_I think everyone here knew they were in love before they did!" expressed Arthur with a hearty laugh, which everyone at the table joined in on._

"_Aren't you glad that it's finally out in the open and the two of you can be together now?" questioned Mrs. Weasley. _

"_Sure, I guess," muttered Ron. He wasn't very good at public proclamations of love. It had only taken him seven years to admit that he loved her…_

_All eyes at the table turned and looked at Hermione, waiting for her to say something._

_Hermione shrugged her shoulders and quickly shoved food into her mouth, hoping Ron would take the lead in speaking to the crowd of people sitting around them, even though she knew he wouldn't. _

_As she expected, he grabbed a roll and shoved it into his mouth as well, his cheeks too full to speak. _

_Everyone was looking at her expectantly as if they were supposed to say something sweet and lovey-dovey about how happy they were to be together, and how excited she was to experience their future together._

_Instead Hermione chewed quickly and threw her friend under the bus, "So Harry…what's in store for you and Ginny?"_

_Hermione knew that Harry had recently asked Ginny to marry him and Ginny was anxious to spill the beans. Luckily, she took the invitation without hesitation. _

_Ginny squealed and practically jumped out from the table, knocking her chair down to the floor. Her hand thrust out to the center of the table where she waved around a beautiful diamond ring._

"_We're getting married!" she exclaimed._

_A wave of sudden gasps erupted all around and happy cheers from everyone filled the room. _

_Ron looked relieved that they were out of the spot light. "Thanks for that," he muttered._

_Hermione brought his hand up to her lips and kissed the back of it, "You're welcome."_

_/_

With the exception of Ginny, the Weasley's hardly spoke to her anymore.

"So much for family," she muttered as she picked up her purse and turned the lights off in her office.

Tomorrow marked the would-be anniversary of her and Ron's engagement. It hadn't been much of an engagement. Everyone had assumed they were engaged for so long that one day Ron just went out and bought her a ring to make it official.

/

"_I thought that you should have something. I know that it's not much, but I'll promise to get you something better once I can afford it," he said meekly as he slid the silver band onto her finger._

_Hermione's eyes were welling up with happy tears. "Oh Ron, it's beautiful. It couldn't be more perfect!" _

_Her arms wrapped affectionately around him as she embraced him in a grateful hug. He was beaming when they finally pulled apart._

"_So- so you like it? It's not too simple anything?"_

_Hermione shook her head, "You know I don't care about frivolous things like that Ron! It's perfect and I love it. I love you."_

_She pulled him close and kissed him tenderly; pouring all of her heart into the kiss to show him how happy she was to be with him, and how excited she was that he was going to be her partner in life. _

_She was so unbelievably happy._

_It was too good to be true._

_/_

Hermione didn't even realize she was stomping her feet as she made her way to the floo station.

Although she had nothing against Ron's new wife Janessa, she couldn't help but notice the huge rock she now sported on her finger.

And she knew for a fact that even though Ron was doing okay financially, but he certainly wasn't _that_ well-off.

Whatever.

It wasn't like frivolous things like diamond-size mattered to her.

She was above such pettiness.

Hermione flooed to her home, and stepped out of the fireplace, shaking off the little bit of ash that had followed in behind her.

"Where are you…" Hermione clicked her teeth as she opened her cabinet and looked for the right bottle. "A-ha! There are you. C'mere, we have a date tonight, you and I."

Located in the back of the cabinet was a red bottle of wine with little hearts decorated across the glass.

Hermione opened up a second cupboard and pulled out a rather large wine glass.

She didn't even bother to change out of her work clothes as she began to uncork the bottle labeled, 'Philtre D'Amour'

It meant Love Potion in French.

"Love potion my ass," grumbled Hermione as she pulled the cork out and generously poured her first glass.

The bottle of wine had been a gift from Fleur and Bill. They had been saving it for their wedding night.

"You taste better alone anyway," Hermione spoke aloud to her glass of wine.

Ron and Janessa had just welcomed their first born son, Landen, into the world a week ago.

No one had informed Hermione directly of his birth; perhaps they were afraid she would over-react?

She had seen Ron and Harry talking about him. She had seen the baby pictures from over Ron's shoulder when she had walked into Harry's office unannounced earlier that week.

Most people didn't realize that it had been Hermione who had told Ron that she wasn't ready for kids, and not the other way around.

It almost insulted her that Harry hadn't been the one to tell her straight out that Landen had finally been born. Most of all, she wasn't stupid and she received the Daily Prophet which had announced his birth. Not only was his birth announced, it had included a full page article briefly covering Ron's turbulent love life with her, making it sound like a doom he'd narrowly escaped before moving onto the highlights of his happy, new future with his beautiful, photogenic wife Janessa and a collage of the new baby Landen.

Again, she had nothing against Janessa, but no witch looked like that without the help of cosmetic-magic. It just didn't happen.

Before she realized it, she had finished half the bottle on her own. Hermione picked it up and swished around the liquid contents, "Maybe I should owl the rest of you to Ron. After all, this was given to _us_."

She poured another full glass and dumped the rest of the wine down the sink, "Nah…"

It made her so angry that Ron hadn't had the gall to tell her about Landen himself.

She would have been happy for him! Why was it some kind of secret? He was acting like a child and so was Harry. Harry could have said something to her.

Ron was bound to bring Landen into the office when he came to visit Harry at some point anyway!

Some days it felt like Ron worked for her, she saw him around the office so frequently.

Not that she cared. Ron's presence around the office didn't rattle her in the slightest. What upset her was that he actually thought she would overreact at the news of his son's birth.

"I should send him a congratulations present just to rattle his feathers," Hermione schemed. "I should send Janessa a card along with it too. Write: You're welcome! Because you wouldn't have your son if Ron could of had me. But I didn't want him, because I chose to have a life instead of a baby! Enjoy your life together! Ha! Ha!"

That would be mean to do but Hermione couldn't help but laugh a little. Her emotions quickly ransacked her and before she could control herself her laughter began to morph into tears.

There were no regrets to be had about her current life. She loved what she did and if she had to give up her life with Ron to achieve it she would do it all over again. But that didn't mean that it had been easy to let that future go.

A rush of emotions overwhelmed her and she had to sit down. It was unlike her to allow her emotions to get the best of her. The one night a year with Harry was usually sufficient, maybe because their bar-date this year had been cut short she needed another night to let her composure lose?

"I'm going to need something stronger than this, that's for sure." Hermione stated as she finished off the last of her wine; regretting her decision to pour half the bottle down the drain.

Hermione didn't keep a lot of alcohol in the house, but she did have a bottle of whiskey in her desk drawer…

Hermione set the empty wine glass in the sink and headed over to the fireplace where she floo-ed back to the ministry.

It was late that so she didn't encounter anyone on her way back to her office.

As she walked down the hall she decided to make a detour to Harry's office where she left him a note stating that he would be on his own for the day and she was taken a long-overdue day off.

If Hermione was going to get drunk tonight, then she was going to do it properly.

Hermione entered her office and retrieved her bottle of whiskey from its place. She was about to shut the drawer and leave when she heard a light buzzing.

She stopped for a second and listened to hear what the noise was and where it had come from. She looked down at the drawer where she had just placed the bottle of whiskey and saw a cellphone light up and flash the name 'Draco' across the screen.

She had almost forgotten about 'Megan's' cellphone.

It was a text. She opened the message and read,

'I really need a drink'

"You and me both," said Hermione.

Talk about perfect timing! Hermione decided to take this as a sign from the gods that she had full permission to drown her emotions in liquor tonight and texted back,

'Sure. Where do you want to meet?'

The response was immediate,

'Same place as last time'

Hermione reached farther back in the drawer and took hold of a flask containing polyjuice potion. The flask was full and contained enough potion to last her the next few days.

"Not exactly the ideal way to go out but it'll have to do," said Hermione to herself as she tipped back the flask and drank the vile contents within. In a few short minutes, she had transformed into the bouncy haired brunette and was out the door to meet up with her new-favorite Slytherin.

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A/N: Yes, yes, I realize that this update took a long time. I apolgize. But I had my birthday on the eleventh and I've been partying Sorry for the bit of neglect. I promise that I'm back and I'll never desert you fully. Anywho, let me know what you think so far and what you think Draco and Hermione are going to get up to on their little date. Teehee!

Thanks for reading and remember to review, review, review!

Also, check my profile for the other FF sites I'm posting on. They include the banner for this story and others!


	18. A Fresh Start

__Authors Note: I realize it's been ages since I've updated and here's why. I went through a break up. My partner of 6 years (getzdragon) thought it'd be a good idea to cheat on me with my friend of 13 years and then leave me to be with her. Sounds like my own real life fanfiction doesnt it? Anyway, just like a good fanfiction the bad works out for the best and I'm in love with someone who surpasses even her best potential. I hope my readers can be understanding that it's very difficult to write about love during a time like that and I hope you will forgive me for my absence. Let the story commence!

_._

_I wait for you to open up…you're just what I've been looking for…Whoever you loved before me that ran; Nothing like me, nothing like me…__The way you look at me when you think I'm not looking-I look at you that way too. You just don't know that I do…_

_-Esperanza Spalding_

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Hermione apparated two blocks down from the bar location and walked the rest of the way to her final destination. When she saw that Draco wasn't there yet, she realized she probably should have taken muggle transportation the entire way. It was going to look like she…Megan…was here all along, hoping Draco would text her to come out.

That, or Draco was going to believe Megan had a drinking problem.

Why not?

Hermione found a place at the bar and ordered a Manhattan.

The bar wasn't very busy, which was nice because she would actually be able to hear herself think and not have to wait too long for the bartender.

The man tending the bar set down her drink and helped a couple arriving on the other side of the bar.

/

What Draco wouldn't give for his wand in that moment.

He was still in his work uniform. He should have gone home, changed his clothes, and then messaged Megan to meet him out. This kind of problem didn't come to his mind at first thought. Any other day, he would have fixed this wardrobe issue with a quick flick of his wand. But he couldn't tonight. He would have to suffer through the night as an ill-dressed muggle.

At least Megan would understand. She worked at the same place so the smell of rum and seafood wasn't going to put her off.

But still…Draco was used to keeping up appearances and this look was definitely not up to Malfoy standards.

'_First time for everything, I guess' _Draco figured as he walked into the bar still in his work clothes.

He was surprised to see that Megan was already there.

'_How did she manage to get here so fast?' _He wondered.

Megan had spotted him walking through the door as she smiled and waved him over.

She looked bloody amazing in a flowing red tunic, dark blue jeans and black flats; and here he was still dressed as a waiter.

Wonderful.

"How was work?"

"Dreadful," Draco replied, as he took a seat next to her. "To be honest with you, I'm surprised I didn't get fired today."

'_Uh-oh, What did you do?'_ thought Hermione as she refrained the urge to cringe.

"What happened?"

"I guess I got a bit cheeky with a few of the guests. But in my defense, I don't think I get paid enough to tolerate stupidity at such an alarming rate."

"You just have to learn to pass it off."

"Yeah, that's basically what Paul told me."

"Well, I have a feeling Paul really likes you so you're lucky," she said with a small smile. Her charm must have had a longer effect on Paul than she anticipated. Once again, she was happy she had interfered.

The bartender came over and Draco ordered a beer.

"Thanks for coming out to meet me by the way."

"Yeah, I was happy to. I really needed the drink tonight," she honestly admitted as she took a rather large sip of her Manhattan.

"Oh yeah? What happened?" Draco curiously pried.

She struggled to find a semi-honest reason, "Just…you know… guy troubles, I guess."

"Guy troubles? As in boyfriend troubles?"

Was Draco really fishing around to see if she was single?

Hermione was caught off-guard, "Uh…no. Not anymore."

"Well, whoever the bloke was, forget about him. I'm sure you can do better."

"I dunno, I think that if you met him you might think that we were made for each other." The Weasley and The Mudblood belonged together after all, right?

"If the two of you seem made for one another then I probably wouldn't like him very much," teased Draco.

"You have no idea how right you are about that. I don't think you would like him very much." Under any circumstance, Hermione could never picture Draco and Ron getting along. She was still in shock that she was hitting it off so well with Draco now.

Maybe she had his prejudice misjudged? Maybe he didn't hate muggles, just the idea of muggles and wizards interbreeding?

It wasn't like she could ask him flat out.

But then again, he'd never liked her; she had two muggle parents, so it couldn't be that. And there was no way he had changed this much in just over a month. She never had a client change over this quickly before.

What was going on with Draco and what happened to the Malfoy she knew?

She decided to poke his buttons and find out.

"What about you? Are you and Charlie…"

"Are Charlie and I what?"

"A…you know," she hinted.

He started at her, completely oblivious to what she was alluding to.

"A couple?" Hermione clarified, "Are you and Charlie together?"

Draco nearly spit out his beer. "No! Merlin, No!"

"Sorry, I mean. It wouldn't matter if you were; you know…I was just curious."

"No, we're not together! I don't even…do I seem gay to you?"

"Well, I don't think there's a way to really seem gay, Draco…"

"Right, but I'm not. I'm not interested in men," he rushed to clarify.

"Okay," she tried to settle him down, "I was just wondering. Sorry if I offended you."

"It's fine," he calmed down and took a long, deep drink from his beer.

Hermione half wished Harry was with her in that moment. He and Ron used to fight all the time over whether or not Draco was gay. They had a whole list of reasons stating why he might be or why he may not be interested in men. Hermione had never jumped on the band wagon. If Draco had been gay, it wouldn't have been any of their business. Why was it relevant?

"You need another drink," Draco pointed out.

"So I do"

Before Hermione could signal the bartender over, Draco already had and was ordering her another drink. It was a vodka-cranberry.

"It's what you were drinking last time," pointed out Draco.

Hermione couldn't help but be impressed that he not only noticed, but remembered what she had been drinking the night before. Ron had never once ordered for her.

"Yeah, thanks," she picked up her glass and took a drink.

She suddenly found herself without anything to talk about. She wanted to ask him everything she wasn't allowed to say. Why was he okay with Megan when she was a muggle? Why was he being nice? When did he learn how to smile? And when did he look so good doing it?

Draco picked up the conversation lead. "So, how long were you with this guy?"

Should she really answer that? "We don't have to discuss it," she passed it off.

"No, it's okay. You look like you need to talk and I don't mind listening."

Wow. Who was this man sitting next to her?

"Okay then…I mean, we've known each other for years. Nearly all my life, actually…but I guess we were dating for about six, maybe seven years."

"That's a long time."

"Mmmhmm"

"And you just broke up with him?"

"No, it's been over a good year or so. He's married now and just had a kid."

"Oh wow. So what's re-opened old wounds?"

"I guess…," she struggled to find the right words. "I guess it's just odd to watch someone else live the life you could have had. Do you know what I mean?"

Draco thought back, he used to feel that way about Blaise. He had the wealth, the status, the position without any of the pressures Draco had to endure at the hands of his Father. He'd envied him for as long as he had known him, "Sort of."

"Don't get me wrong; I'm happy that he's moved on, and I'm glad that he's found someone. He finally has the family he's always wanted. It would have been selfish of me to keep that from him. But it's still weird."

Hermione felt a warmth on her back. To her surprise, Draco had placed his hand on her back in a comforting gesture.

She didn't move it.

"What about you? Why did you need a drink so bad tonight? Just work?" She was eager to talk about something else and distract herself from realizing how nice and warm Draco's touch actually felt to her.

"I'm not very good with people so I guess the frustration just sticks with me."

"I think you're doing a great job dealing with people," she said, but what she really meant was, 'I can't believe you've acclimated to muggle life as well as you have.'

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," she added. "No one's perfect."

"Trust me. I know I'm not perfect," Draco finished off his beer and signaled for another, moving his hand away from her back. The spot where his hand had rested suddenly felt cold and she wished he would put it back.

His hands remained wrapped around his beer glass.

Draco felt conflicted.

He really liked this girl but half of his mind was telling him to leave. Pursuing this girl went against everything he had ever been taught about the dangers of intermingling with muggles.

Draco didn't know if he was ready to change but he knew he wanted to be closer to Megan. What if getting closer to Megan did change the way he felt about muggles though? Was he ready to accept that?

What if this love at first sight thing was actually real and once he allowed himself to get closer, he wouldn't be able to pull away?

Draco tried to imagine bringing Megan home to his family and nearly gagged on his beer.

The idea was funny but in reality the outcome would be grave for Megan. If his father found out he was fawning over a muggle, there would be dire consequences for the both of them.

Hermione wasn't sure what was going on with her either. Draco started to talk about his encounters with guests that evening and she was barely paying attention to a word he was saying.

She kept getting distracted by things she had never noticed before about him. The way his hair fell past his ears…the distinct color of his eyes…the way his smile lit up his face…the perfect shape and glowing whiteness of his teeth…

Hermione stared at her drink, which had somehow depleted itself and wondered what was making her notice these things. She was starting to feel a little tipsy, maybe it was just the alcohol. Alcohol made everyone appear nicer, didn't it?

Well, if that was true, than Draco was about to get a lot nicer in her eyes as he bought her another drink. A double this time.

"What's with the drinks Malfoy?" she teased. "Onto something?"

"What?" he laughed. "No, just being nice is all. I dragged you out remember?"

"I guess. But let me buy the next round, okay?"

"Sure…but, what did you call me?" asked Draco curiously.

'_Oh crap, that was off character wasn't it?'_ thought Hermione. "Well, your last name is Malfoy isn't it?"

"Right, just no one here has called me by that name…since I've moved here, I mean. Where I'm from, people call me that all the time."

"Suits you I guess," Hermione tried to pass it off.

Draco chuckled, "I guess. It's not really the people who are fond of me who call me Malfoy, however. I guess I have a lot of enemies because I get called Malfoy all of the time."

"Why would you have a lot of enemies?" She decided to play ignorant.

"I…Well, let's just say I use to hang around a bad crowd when I was younger."

"When you were younger? Draco you're barely in your mid-twenties."

"I know, but still. Being here with you tonight makes that life seem so long ago…It's really weird."

"Why did you come here? Leave where you're from, I mean?" Hermione was curious as to what he would say.

"I needed to get my head straight. Figure out who I am, what I believe in, and what kind of choices I want to make for my future. I think that getting away from everyone I've known for a while might be good for me."

"For you, I hope so."

"To New Beginnings," Draco brought his glass up for a toast.

"And Fresh Starts," Hermione brought her glass up and clinked it against his.

/


End file.
